Be your own you
by That-One-Robin-Egg
Summary: She was told to never be a trainer by her parents; that it was the most dangerous thing she could do in her life. So why did she secretly keep three pokemon from her hometown? Now she's in a new region and something is very wrong in nature. A chance rescue leads to dangerous roads opening and the fate of Hoenn falling into her hands. ORAS storyline based with StevenXOC
1. Moving day

She wasn't a trainer; her father and mother would never allow her to travel around Hoenn on her own and didn't trust the wild pokemon not kill her, but that still didn't stop her from pokemon hunting on route 22. That was where she met her beautiful Lileo, Silas, and her Riolu, Riley. She stored them in the local pokecenters PC so to not worry her mother and father, but she spent hours a day with the pair and, eventually, the two evolved into even more beautiful and powerful pokemon, but all Lexi carried about was that she had the two in her life.

One day, her mother and father broke the news that they were moving. A small island across the ocean in a region called Hoenn. The seasons were beginning to change and the cooling air hurt her mothers joints and made her sicker than she already was. She had less than a week to pack her things and say goodbye to the land she grew up in favor of an island forever in summer. She didn't have any friends in Kalos from her school because they all left once they graduated; went on to pursue their dreams and goals in life while was stuck with a controlling father and a sick mother who could no longer walk on her own.

The leaves were falling when moving day finally came. Her father hired and moving company that didn't use pokemon and told her to help with moving the cardboard boxes and furniture. She spent the better half of the cool autumn morning packing boxes and carrying them down and up stairs and into trucks. Late into the night, when packing and loading was finally finished, she asked her father if she could run to the nearby town and grab a few things for the trip. Her father reluctantly agreed, saying that they were boarding a ferry in the next hour and a half. She kissed her father on the cheek and took off running down the road. She arrived, panting and shaking at the local pokecenter and the woman behind the counter chuckled.

"Rough day?" she asked as Lexi logged onto her account and pulled out Silas and Riley and tucked them into her backpack.

"Moving day," she said simply as she made sure her pokemon were safe and well hidden from her mother and father, "Some place called the Hoenn region just across the sea,"

"I actually have friends that live over there!" she said happily and Lexi shook her head in amusement, "She spends a lot of her time at the local Battle Resort and Maison,"

"And what are the chances that I'll ever see or step foot on that place?" she asked leaning against the counter. The woman shrugged.

"You never know, Lex," she said, "People tend to change in a new place. Oh!" The woman ducked under the counter and pulled out as small bag, "I packed something to help once you get settled in; a few pokeballs and some potions to help Silas and Riley during any scraps," she set the bag down on the table, but Lexi shook her head.

"Abbie, its very sweet of you, but I have no money and..."

"Think of it as a good luck gift," she said placing a hand on Lexi's hand and gently pushing the bag back towards her with a smile, "You never know what all you might find there," she said with a smile and Lexi hugged her tightly.

"Thank you so much for your help Abbie," she said with tears threatening the spill over from her eyes. Abby smiled sweetly and wished her luck once more before Lexi reluctantly left the pokecenter that had grow so used to. She pulled out Silas from his pokeball, hopped on his back, and raced through the forest one last time.

As she rode through the forest, Silas stopped suddenly and almost threw her off his back. She clutched onto his mane and looked around to see what made him stop so suddenly. She hopped off his back and Silas trotted over towards a patch of tall grass, bent down and carefully picked up a small tuff of feathers in his mouth.

"What is it, bud?" she asked and held her hands out. Silas carefully placed the object in her hand and gave it a soft lick. In her hands was a small fainted Pidgey that couldn't have been more than a week or two old at most. Small birds breathing was soft and shallow and wouldn't last long out here in the woods by itself. She heard her father shout her name and she quickly returned Silas to his pokeball and pulled out an empty ball for the small Pidgey. She captured the Pidgey in the ball, placed the two pokeballs in her bag and dashed off back home. Her father was waiting outside their home with her mother as they locked up the home for the final time and help her mother into the van. Lexi took one more look back at the home she grew up in and the woods she played in. As they drove and past route 22, she held onto her bag just a little tighter as she remembered all the days she spent training Silas and Riley on that same road. Eventually, they drove past the farthest she had ever been before to Anistar City. They all boarded a ferry together as their things were put n the lower decks. She stood on the top deck and watched the land fade away over the horizion.

It was late when she finally found her room, but she was lucky enough that her parents gave her her own room. It may have been small and a little cramped, but it gave her the chance to attend to the small stowaways she had hidden in her back. She pulled out Silas and Rileys pokeballs and released them first; Silas stretched his legs and Riley yawned and shook her head. Then she took out the Pidgeys pokeball and carefully released the injured bird. The small bird was conscious now, but was too weak to move too much; Riley and Silas leaned into to see the new creature and the Pidgey tried to run away from them.

"Hey," she said pushing back the two larger pokemon as far as she could, "Give her some space to breath," Silas snorted and Riley crossed her arms, but Lexi turned her attention to the small bird on her bed.

"Here," she said digging into her backpack and pulling out one of the potions from Abbie and held it out towards the bird, "This will heal you right up if you let me use it on you," The Pidgey eyed her closely and chirped softly. After a few moments, the injuried bird slowly hopped towards her and onto her hand. Lexi carefully sprayed the air above the Pidgey until the spray ran out and the bird was healed instantly. She chirped happily and hoped up her arm and onto her shoulder. Lexi chuckled.

"I'm guessing that you feel better," she said as Silas and Riley came back over towards her. The Pidgey noticed them and coward behind her face, "Here that not so bad," She carefully held a hand out to the Pidgey who hopped on and she brought it in to her lap, right front of Silas and Riley.

"This is Silas," she said holding the small bird up to Silas's face. He sniffed the bird and gave it a quick lick and the Pidgey chirped, "And this is Riley," she said holding the bird towards Riley who nodded her head at the small bird. The Pidgey chirped and flew onto Rileys head; she twittered in triumph. Lexi smiled softly as the two conversed back on forth in their own tongue.

"Would you like to join us?" she asked as the Pidgey flew onto Silas's head and peaked his ear. The Pidgey looked up at her and chirped and Lexi smiled.

"Alright," she said and thought for a moment, "How does the name Alita sound?" she asked and the chirped happily and glided down onto her shoulder once more. Alita nudged her head against Lexi's ear and Silas grunted. Lexi looked over at her clock and red numbers stared back at her saying 2:39 am. The days work started catching up with her as she yawned and leaned against the wall. She took out the three pokeballs and returned them all before falling asleep to the gentle rocking of the boat.


	2. An evening ride

It took almost a day and a half to finally reach Hoenn and Lexi couldn't be more happy to finally reach dry land. Most of her time on the boat was spent in her room listening to music and walking the halls. Her parents stayed in their cabin almost the entire trip and even had meals delivered to their room, but she really didn't mind. She secretly hoped that she would be able to have more freedom in Hoenn since it was an isolated island, and, as her mothers health declined, her father would spend most of his time at her beck and call; not like he didn't already. So she was used to eating meals alone, but pokemon were allowed at the dinner table on the boat so she got to spend some quality time with her team.

It was midday when the ferry docked at a southern town called Slateport. Town itself was busy since it was around lunch time, and sweet smell of seafood drifted through the air. She wanted to spend some time and look around, meet the locals, and taste whatever was making that wonderful smell. Her father helped her mother off the ramp and grunted at his daughters actions. As the three packed the moving van and started the long drive to their new home, he scoffed once more as she looked out the window at the land speeding by.

"I don't know why you think we moved here," he started, "but it wasn't for you," he said and Lexi sighed quietly and tried to keep her mouth shut, "We moved here for your mother,"

"I know dad," she said quietly and continued to stare out the window.

"And I don't want you wondering off here," he said, "There's no telling what kind of creatures live here that are more deadly than back home..."

"How do you know that they're dangerous?" she said, "You've never even met one before,"

"But I have heard stories, Lexi," he said raising his voice, "Poor hikers getting attacked and mauled to death and children getting taken right out of their backyard...just look at what happened to your mother!"

"Maybe those weren't pokemon!" she shouted, "No one confirmed that those were pokemon!"

"And you know better than us?" her father shouted and pulled the van over and stared her down, "You know more than your parents who have lived much longer and have seen more than you so please enlighten us! What pokemon have you met that didn't attack you on sight?!" He was in her face now and her blood was boiling. How could he be so closed minded about a topic he knows nothing about?! She grinded her teeth together and almost pulled out the three pokeballs she had hidden in her bag. She stared for father down, and then turned her head back towards the window.

"That's what I thought..." he said triumphantly and pulled the van back onto the road. Lexi clenched her jaw and tried to slow her breathing, but she was furious and, no matter how she tried, she couldn't calm down. Time passed and they finally came to their new home in a small town called Littleroot. Lexi helped her mother out of the van and began helping move boxes into the house; avoiding her father at all costs. The unloading and unboxing took about half the time it did before, mostly because Lexi took out her angry by lifting the heaviest boxes and taking them to the right rooms which left her sweaty and shaking as the last of the boxes were taken off the truck and placed in the living room and the van drove back to Slateport. Lexi was up in her room with the windows open when she heard her father speaking to her mother.

"Isn't it beautiful, honey?" he said and her mother didn't reply, "I've read that its one of the safest places in the entire world. We'll set up an electric fence around the house to keep those filthy beast away from you," Again, her mother didn't reply, "Let's get you to bed dear… it's getting late," Lexi sighed and turned back to the pile of boxes sitting in the corner of her new room beside the empty bed frame. Every step echoed in the bare room as she grabbed her backpack and sneaked down stairs. She stopped at the end of the stairs and heard her father cough as he locked the front door and walked into the kitchen. She crept back up stair to her room and began unpacking her things; bidding her time until her mother and father went to their room for the night.

Two hours passed and she finally ran out of things to unpack and set up. She was without a proper bed until a few days when the bigger furniture came in so for the time being she had an air bed to sleep on. She laid down on her make shirt bed and started at the ceiling and held Alita's pokeball; examining it closely. She was thinking of how much easier the move would have been if pokemon, her pokemon, had help. Silas could pull the furniture and Riley helped them move the boxes, and Alita could fly up in the rafters and knock down spider webs and help blow out the muck and dust in the house. Maybe then, he father would see just how kind pokemon really were.

Suddenly, she heard her father stomp up the stairs and she quickly hid the pokeball under her blankets and pulled out her phone. She just put her earbuds in when her father topped the stairs and looked around at how she decorated her room. Lexi pretended not to notice him and first and pretended to play on her phone.

"We're in bed for the night," he said loudly and she took out an earbud and looked at him and nodded before going back to her phone.

"Tell mom I said goodnight," she said and her father nodded and made his way back down the stairs. Lexi stayed still and listened as her father walked into their room and locked the door; she waited a few more minutes before standing and climbing out onto the roof from her opened window. She reached into her pack and pulled out Silas's pokeball and released him on the ground below her. Silas looked around for her before looking up at the roof and letting out a low growl. Lexi held her finger to her lips and carefully climbed down and landed on the back of the Pyroar. The pair padded off quietly into the forest and made sure that they were well enough away from the house before spiriting off deeper into the forest. She also released Riley and Alita as the four bounded across a small stream of water. Lexi buried her face in Silas's mane and tried to just focus on the wind whistling past her ears and the gentle gallop of the power beast under her.

She didn't tell Silas where to run or for how long, but she really didn't care. She turned her head to the side and watched the sun filter through the trees and Riley run along side them; keeping up easily, and Alita flew just behind her looking only just a bit tired. She smiled slightly and watched the power of the two pokemon and wondered how she could ever find better friends in this world. She wrapped her arms around Silas's mane and she felt a deep rumble from his chest and throat, and she knew that they loved her just as much as she did them.

Silas grunted and the group came to a stop just outside a small and hardly used route. Lexi slid off Silas's back and patted the Pyroars massive head. Alita landed on Riley's shoulder; almost falling over in exhaustion had Riley not caught her and then she realized that Riley was breathing hard too. She glared over at Silas who let out a quiet roar and pawed at the ground innocently.

"How would I know that you would manage to run the team ragged?" she asked playfully and bumped her hip into him. He retaliated by bumping her with his head and almost pushing her to the ground. His head whipped up and he barked softly. Lexi stood and listened, and she heard a faint scream in the distance. She jumped up and climbed onto Silas as the group took off towards the source of the screaming.

They made it in less than a minute and found a middle aged man running from a small dog-like pokemon. It cornered him against against a tree and started growling and snapping st the man. The man spied Lexi and her team and started shouting her help.

"Y...You there!" he cried, "Please help me!" the small pokemon whipped around and started running towards her a full speed until it spied Riley and Silas pushing their way through the bushes. They bared their teeth and the poor pup ran back into the woods crying. Silas gave a loud roar just to seal the deal and keep the creature away. Lexi patted both of them and jogged over to the man who was still by the tree.

"Are you alright?" she asked and helped the men up.

"Thank you for your help," the man said dusting himself off, "A poochenas bark is worse than its bite, but its still not something you want to be at the end of. I must have walked into the poor pups territory without noticing,"

""Yeah we used to see them a lot back home so I know what you mean," she said with a smile as Silas snorted and laid his head on her shoulder. The mans attention went from her to her team in a split second.

"My what a beautiful Pyroar!" he cried and ran his fingers through Silas's mane and coat, "His coat is a much lighter color than the others I have seen!" Silas barked and rumbed his head against the mans chest, no doubt wanting more attention.

"And he has the personality to match," she said jokingly as the Pyroar glared back at her and flicked her with his tail.

"And this Lucario!" he cried once more and looked at Riley who watched him closely as he looked her over, "She is just a beauty! And the Pidgey looks so powerful for a such a young age!"

"Well, thank you," Lexi said shyly as Altia glided to her shoulder and hid within her hair from the strange man, "I'm sorry, but Silas is the only one who really enjoys the spot light this much,"

"I apologize, it's just that these species are very rare here in Hoenn," the man said taking a step back, "My name is Professor Bitch. It's my job and passion to study pokemon where ever they be from,"

"Well these guys are from the Kalos region," she said with a smile, "We just moved here with my parents this morning,"

"So it was your family that moved into that old house just outside of town," the man said with a smile, "I was wondering who moved in their and I'm glad to find out who. Would your parents like to come over for dinner sometime?" Lexi cringed slightly.

"My parents are actually very against pokemon to the highest degree," she said quietly and patted Silas's massive head, "I only have these guys by hiding them from my parents,"

"Oh," the Professor said dejectedly, "Why do they dislike pokemon so much?" and Lexi shrugged.

"They think that they are the most dangerous thing on this earth," she said, "and that they attack people and kill them,"

"Well, that's clearly not true!' the Professor said, "Your team is proof of that!" Lexi shrugged again.

"I've tried to change their minds, but their set in stone," she said sadly, "And I'm afraid that if I bring these guys out into the open that my dad will take them away and do something horrible," Tears prickled her eyes when she remembered seeing a skinning manuel and hunting knife in the backyard back home at Kalos.

"I am very sorry that your parents think that way..." the Professor apologized. Lexi chuckled softly.

"It's not your fault, Mr Birch," she mumbled and cleared her throat, "It's not your fault that they think this way..."

"Well...since you are here," he spoke, "Would you like to come to my lab and see what all Hoenn has to offer?" She smiled brightly, eager to see what new things awaited her in her new home. Lexi climbed back on top of Silas and followed the Professor to his lab in the heart of Littleroot.

The Professors family was very kind. His wife, Jodie, offered to make her dinner after hearing about how far away her home was and how far her and her pokemon had ran, and tried to give her a pack of water for the trip back, but Lexi politely declined saying that she was already almost too heavy for Silas to carry to begin with and that they would never make it back home with a pack of water weighing them down. The Professor also had a son named Brandon who often helped his dad with his pokemon research, but Brandon was only about 15 to 16 years old and had his own pokemon, a water type pokemon called Mudkip. Brandon followed them to the lab and played with Silas and Riley as the Professor pulled out a red plate and pulled it open, revealing and glass pane with the words "Hoenn pokedex" dancing across the screen.

"This is my personal pokedex that I've gathered information on over the years," he said and tapped the glass as a hologram popped up over the glass. The Professor swipped across the glass and the hologram followed until it came to a stop on a panel with a picture of a Litleo and a detailed description. He pressed edit on the top hand corner and walked over to Silas and started walking around him.

"I hope you don't mind," he said typing on the hologram, "Your Pyroar has a very rare coat and I would like to document it for further study,"

"Be my guest," she said with a laugh as Silas stopped playing with Brandon and began turning towards the Professor as he turned, almost like a cat. Lexi smiled and looked around at the vast collections of books and drawings of different pokemon over the years. Detailed habitats and even eyes covered the walls as one caught her eye. A beautiful snake like pokemon with long eyebrows almost the full length of its body with three black dots near its head. The picture was only a sketch, but it was very well done and show that the artist had spent a lot of time and work on it. Of to the side was another sketch, but this one was a bit rougher and looked done in a rush. A four legged creature with what looked like rings around its midsection.

"How did you come across your Pyroar and Lucario?" he asked and Alita chipped and bit his ear, "Ow! And Pidgey..." he said as Altia flew back over to Lexi and landed on her shoulder.

"I met Silas and Riley on route 22 a few years back and they just kind of...stuck around. My parents almost caught them so I got them their own pokeballs and kept them in my towns PC," she said as Riley walked over to her and growled quietly in amusement, "We found Alita in the woods near my house a few hours before we left. She ways knocked out and almost dead so we took her with us and she decided she wanted to stay," she rubbed her head against Altia's small frame and the bird chirped happily. Riley barked and Altia glided down onto her head and pecked her ear. Lexi smirked and Silas trotted over and bumped her with his massive and purred as she ran her fingers through his fiery mane.

"How about you work for me?" the Professor chimed in, "You don't have to tell your parents that is pokemon research; you could say that its more of a nature research instead." Lexi looked up at him with wide eyes. She had never out right lied to her parents before because she never lied to them about Silas and Riley; her parents had never asked so she never needed to lie about them, but this would be an out right lie to their face. Just the thought made her nervous and , almost afraid, but she knew that she wanted to know more about her team and the other pokemon in the region.

"It would be an honor, Professor Birch," she said happily, "But my parents will know that I snuck out during the night and want to know how I got this far on foot, and my father even told me on the way here to not wonder off on my own," she added shamfully. Professor Birch was quiet for a moment before he snapped his fingers and ran to his desk.

"I actually have letters that I send to parents if I see that their child has potential to help in my work...Ah!" he cried and pulled out a white sheet of paper from the bottom shelf. He quickly looked over the wording before laying it on his desk next to his PC, "I'll let you think on this tonight while I reword this letter for your parents to make it sound less "Dangerous"." and turned back to her, "we might want to get you home. It's nearly ten o'clock!" Lexi honestly didn't want to go home; all she would be doing was finishing up unpacking the small things and maybe stare at the ceiling some more. She wanted to stay with the Professor and learn as much as she could before she would be forced back home, but now the days events were catching up to her and she was drop dead exhausted and she didn't even realize it until the Professor said something about it.

"Yeah, I think you're right," she said and stifled a yawn. The Professor smiled and lead her to the door where Brandon was waiting with his Mudkip in his arms and watched wide eyed as Silas and the others squeezed out the door. Lexi followed suit and took a deep breath in the cool night air. Silas barked and tossed his head into the air; Lexi smiled and climbed onto of his back as she looked back to the Professor and Brandon watched on.

"You know the way back, right?" Brandon called and Lexi patted Silas body.

"I trust Silas to get me back home," she said and Silas roared loudly into the sky. With one strong leap, Silas dashed into the bushes with Riley and Alita close behind. Lexi sighed and almost collapsed against Silas's warm mane and Professor Birch and Brandon watched Silas's glowing mane disappear into the woods.

She must have fallen asleep on the way back because she felt Riley shake her gently. Lexi groaned and yawned as she looked around. She could see the light in front of her house just off in the distance and she slowly slid off Silas and yawned.

"Thank you for the ride, Silas," she muttered through her yawn and the lion rubbed his head against her stomach. Riley growled as she held a sleeping Alita in her paw. Lexi carefully took the sleeping Pidgey as she pulled out the three pokeballs and returned them inside. After putting the balls back in her bag, she stumbled towards her home, climbed up onto the roof, and back into her dimly lit room. She tossed her bag to the side and fell face first onto her bed and was asleep within the minute.

 **AN: Thank you all so much for the positive feed back I've gotten after only the first day! Just to add a little bit of the story, Lexi is based off my personal experiences, but the situation itself its not something I've got through. Silas is my favorite boi and I'm super excited for the next few chapters cause character development! Thank you so much for reading and consider looking at my other stuff too :)**


	3. A long fall

Warm sunlight stirred her awake and she panicked when she first opened her eyes. Hanging from her ceiling was a very large Zubat sleeping peacefully from the rafters. She laid in her bed for a moment and just stared at the winged beast, when suddenly, she felt the house shake as someone banged on the door; startling the Zubat. It flew and started hitting against the walls of her room and making a racket. Lexi jumped up and tried to shoo the pokemon out the open window before her father heard and came to see what was making the noise.

"Go! Go!" she said tried to shoo the bat to one side of the room, "Shoo!" The Zubat screeched at her as it hit into another wall and dropped something to the floor. It fluttered around before finally flying out the back window. Lexi sighed and checked around to make sure that nothing was broken and picked up what the Zubat had dropped. It was a marble-like stone with a flame like shape in the center colored a deep, almost blood like, red. It was captivating to look at.

"Lexi!" her father shouted and she jumped and dropped the marble to the floor and it rolled under her dresser, "Come down here!" Lexi heard down the stairs; worried that he somehow found out about last night. She turned the corner and found her father and Professor Birch sitting in the living room. The Professor locked eyes with her for a moment, but Lexi averted her gaze and sat politely next to her father on the couch. Her father held a letter in his hands.

"This is Professor Birch," her father said and Lexi nodded a greeting towards him shyly, "He has come to request that you assist him in the study of the abnormal weather and changes in the environment," he said reading from the letter, "Now, Professor Birch has assured me that he has created a device to deter Pokemon. Isn't that true, Professor?"

"Yes sir," he said after clearing his throat, "It has been my experience that having pokemon around, or even close by, effects the test results and would prevent us from getting an accurate reading from the surrounding environment," he said calmly, "I find that having an extra pair of hands or two help me in the long run,"

"And you mentioned that you're son, Brandon, helps you with your research as well, correct?" he father asked and the Professor nodded.

"Yes, and I am well aware that your home is a great distance from my lab and our testing often lasts long into the night, so she is free to stay at my home with my family if the trip back would be a risk you wouldn't want her to take," her father nodded.

"Yes," he agreed, "there is no telling what kind of monstrosities lay in wait at night," Lexi bit the inside of her cheek as her father spoke once more, "I think this would be a wonderful idea for her to realize that there are things in this world that DON'T involve those beast," he glanced over to her and rose from the couch, "But, I must speak to my wife about this, so, if you'll excuse me," He pasted by the stairs and into his room where her mother was. Lexi sighed and sank into the couch.

"You really weren't kidding," she heard the Professor whisper and she chuckled quietly, but sat straight up once more when she heard the door to her parents room open and close as her father came back with an empty glass and an empty pill bottle.

"My wife agrees that this would be good for her," he said setting the glass and empty bottle down as the Professor stood and shook his hand, "Lexi, you are done unpacking correct?" he asked harshly and she sat as straight as she could.

"Yes, sir," she answered and looked at the Professor.

"You're free to go and begin today," he said shortly before picking up the glass and pill bottle and making his way to the kitchen. The Professor walked towards her as she stood and took a deep breath.

"Go grab your stuff," he said placing a hand on her shoulder, "I'll wait outside," Lexi nodded with a soft smile and made her way back up stairs. She quickly climbed the stairs and snatched up her bag from last night and hurried back down the stairs. She paused briefly and heard her father in the kitchen washing dishes; her parents room remained quiet as a tomb as she met the Professor outside. They greeted each other with a smile and made their way into the woods towards the main path.

It was nice to just walk once in a while without Silas or the others. The twigs and sticks crunching underfoot, the soft distant chirps and coos of the local bird pokemon and the occasional bark or far off howl, the soft scent of sea salt mixed with brightly colored flowers. She hadn't had the time to just stop and look around at her new home; her new woods. The Professor marched on just a few steps in front of her, but Lexi was taking slower and slower steps until she eventually came to a stop along a small creek. She looked into the clear blue water and saw a small school of Magikarps darting around a small frog-like pokemon who floated aimlessly with a lily pad holding it to the surface. The flow of the creek twisted its face towards her and it stared at her with small blank eyes and a big yellow bill. Its eyes looked up to her and its bill opened, but only bubbles came out; Lexi couldn't help but smile at the small creature. A brave Marikarp, a bit bigger than the rest of the school, swam up and bit the creature on its back leg. The creature blinked and another line of bubbles came from its bill as the Magikarp carried it off with the rest of the school; the creature looking on blankly and unfazed by its actions.

"There you are," the Professor said as he pushed passed a thick section of branch and twig, "I turned around and lost sight of you for a minute,"

"Sorry," Lexi said sheepishly as a few stray Marikarp darted away from the imposing shadow that cast over the gentle water. Lexi swirled her fingers in the water and they came back out from under rotting logs and carved out stones, "I haven't been able to really look around and see what all this place has to offer." The froglike creature paddled its little stubby legs back down stream to her hand and she felt a soft tickled as it licked one of her fingers.

"Small pools and shallow creeks like this are a haven for low level pokemon like Magikarp and Lotad," the Professor said as he pulled out a small rainbow color cube and placed it beside the Lotad in he water. The pokemon wiggled its little legs to face the cube and stared at it blankly for a few moments before taking a nibble of the cube; some smaller Magikarp followed suit, "They're normally pretty skittish, so I'm surprised that they've warmed up to you this quickly."

"I guess I have a way with them," she said watching as the Magikarp nibbled softly at her finger tips.

"It's been my experience that those with a kind and loving nature and able to calm pokemon easier than most other people can," the Professor said as he took out his Pokedex and snapped a picture of the scene, "Most pokemon can sense a persons pure heart and love,"

"Well, they must be reading me wrong," Lexi joking and shook her hand of water. The Magikarps darted back into hiding, but Lotad stayed floating in the middle and watched her carefully. It produced another line of bubbles and shuffled its body through the water towards the shore. As Lexi and the Professor began to walk off once more, not even noticing the Lotad amble onto the shore, the Lotad let out as loud of a sound as it could. It was just loud enough to catch Lexi's attention as it tried to hobble towards her and the Professor.

"It seems that this one has taken quite the liking to you," the Professor chuckled as it squeaked once more at Lexi as she knelt down to pick the creature up. Lexi grinned at it as it wobbled its stubbly legs towards her, and that's when she noticed that three of its legs were completely missing.

"So that was why that Magikarp was tugging you around," she mused and the Lotad squeaked shortly, confirming her thoughts. The Professor leaned down and rubbed the spot where bumpy white skin replaced the missing legs and Lotad squeaked towards him.

"Poor thing," he said as Lotad tried to crawl up her arm, "It couldn't be more than a few days old..."

"How did you make it out here, hm?" she held the little Lotad up close to her face and it looked at her with blank eyes before it started shuffling towards her nose with a delighted squeak, "You can stick with me for a bit, at least until you can make it on your own," The little Lotad was to her nose and was still for a moment before licking her nose. She smiled kindly and carefully picked the Lotad and set it on her shoulder as her and the Professor finally started make their way to the Professors office after the small detour.

Jodie had made lunch by the time the pair made it to the lab and walked in to the smell of grilled chicken and vegetables. Both the Professor and his wife insisted that she sit and eat and she really couldn't refuse. She hadn't eaten since she had been on the ship and that was almost three days ago. She sat beside their son at the dinner table and ate almost three plate fulls of food and fed some scraps of veggies to the Lotad who munched on them happily.

"So Lexi," the Professor said as she cut into a piece of chicken, "Have you ever used your team in battle?"

"No," she said as she slide a piece of grilled onion off the plate to the Lotad who started munching on it as soon as it was near its face, "I've never properly battled a trainer or any wild pokemon for a matter of fact. I usually have Silas and Riley out of their pokeballs when I wonder the woods so wild pokemon tend to stay their distance when they see them."

"So they're more like pets?" Brandon asked with a mouth full of food and his mother scolded him either for the question or talking with his mouth full.

"Well..." she started and chewed the cut chicken for a moment before answering, "I gave them ever opportunity to leave my side and stay in the wild, but they just followed me home. My mother and father almost caught them so I had to catch them in pokeballs and kept them at the pokecenters PC."

"Do you have any idea why your parents are so against Pokemon?" Jodie asked as she took the empty plates and took them to the kitchen sink.

"My mother was attacked on day while traveling to the store and the attack left her mute and paralyzed," Lexi answered, "Officially, the police didn't find any trace of a human attacker, so a rogue pokemon was blamed. After that she started getting sicker and sicker and no one could figure out why,"

"I'm so sorry, my dear," Jodie replied as she sat back down at the table, but Lexi simply shrugged and stared at her plate; suddenly losing her appetite, "You're welcome here anytime,"

"Thank you," Lexi replied and shook her head slightly, "I'm sure ill take you up on your offer," she looked up and saw the Professor and his wife watching her with somber faces and she gave a thankful smile.

"Well enough of digging up old sins!" the professors said as he stood from the table, "I think we are interested to see how strong your team is," Lexi carried her plate to the kitchen and jogged out to the front of the house to see what made her friends so special in the eyes of the Professor.

Miles away, a beast lurches from an ancient slumber deep under ground. The ground beneath it pulses a message; a warning. It wasn't the first of his kind to awaken at the disturbance. It lazily pulsed back a response, too weak and tired to properly respond to the disturbance and another pulse responses immediately. This one was much stronger and louder. The beast faded back into sleep, listening to the pulsing shake the ground.

All across the island the beasts were heard, but few understood what was being said. Even the largest of the pokemon coward at the quaking ground. Even the mock battle behind the Professors home was stopped as even Silas and Riley stood still and quickly trotted back to Lexi as they understood the messages between the beasts. Silas growled softly at Lexi as Riley stood and watched the woods carefully.

"Well, that enough for today anyway..." the Professor said as he returned his own team to their balls, "You're team impresses me. Not many pokemon can last that long it battle,"

"Has it really been that long?" Lexi asked looking at the sky now noticing that the sun was to setting and casting shadows across the field. The small crowd had left with just Jodie and Brandon sitting and Brandon was quickly falling asleep in the warmth of the evening sun, "I guess it has..."

"Let's head inside and see what all this fighting showed us," the Professor said as he made his way back to his lab. Lexi followed suit as Silas and Riley refused to leave her side. She placed a hand on Silas's snout as she turned the corner.

And saw her father standing by the doorway of the professors lab with his rifle slung over his shoulder

Lexi ducked behind the side of the lab and scrambled for Riley and Silas's pokeballs in her bag. She managed to get Riley in her ball and put back in her bag, but her father shouted before she could get Silas's out.

"LEXI!" her father shout bounced across the walls and she felt her heart drop like a stone. She wrapped the bag tightly around Silas's neck and looked him in the eyes.

"You need to run as far away from here as you can," she said and the Pyroar growled softly and bumped her head. She stood and rounded the corner and saw her father staring her down.

"You lied to me," he father said angrily, "You were spending your time learning about these monsters?!"

"Dad..." she started, but was met with the back end of her fathers hand and was sent across the ground and into the lab.

"DON'T YOU DARE DISRESPECT ME!" He shouted and aimed the gun at her before the professor stepped it.

"Don't point that gun at her you could kill her!" He said.

"You stay out of this!" he father shouted, "This is a family affair!" Lexi tried to sit up, but her vision was spinning badly and her ears rang. As her vision cleared, she saw Silas standing just off a ways directly in firing range of her father.

"Murderous bastard!" her father cried and raised the gun at him. Lexi grabbed the gun and fought for control before kicking her father in the crotch. As he fell and cussed in pain, she ran into the woods as fast as she could as Silas's thundered behind her.

Suddenly, a shot rang out and the tree beside Silas's head busted into splinters but Silas continued running.

"You're not getting away that easily!" her father shouted as another shot rang out, this one missing both of them quite a bit. Her legs burned and her lungs ached, but her father had finally snapped. Her was shooting at Silas's and maybe even her and who know what happened to the professor and his family. Even with darkness growing, she knew her father would pursue them until her punishment was given.

Something shoved her hard and her shoulder busted into a fiery pain. Her step faltered only slightly, but it was just enough as her side busted open into a similar pain. She tried to keep running, willed herself to keep running, but her mind was blank with pain. She couldn't stop herself from falling, and she wasn't prepared for that fall to be 100 feet into the ocean water. She was hardly aware of her body tumbling down a rocky slope before free falling for what felt like minutes. She landed on her back, sending more pain to her brain. She gasped in shock and her mouth filled with salt water as a wave crushed over her head. All she could register was that it was cold and dark and she was hurting; badly. She couldn't hear her fathers shouts anymore nor could she hear Silas's desperate roar. All she could hear was the crushing waves and her beating heart. She let the tide carry her away as her body float limp. She couldn't fight anymore, her body wouldn't let her fight anymore.

Her last thought before the darkness pulled her under was of Silas and the rest of her team and of the deep sound echoing through the water.

 **AN: I literally have no idea how this story got in demand but who knows. Anyway the next chapter will be a pain for my heart because my human boi is coming and man...im just not ready for that. Thank you to all who have favorited and followed the story and I promise to update more often :)**


	4. Dewford storm

Dewford town was one of the smallest towns in the Hoenn region and was the most isolated. The small town of ten was located on the last island in the Hoenn region before the mainland some 700 miles away. It was the perfect place to stay a few days and not worry about much.

The sun was just beginning to peak over the horizon as the fishermen began casting their rods into the sea, swimmers and triathletes started their morning training as a man walked out of the towns pokecenter. He was dressed more professionally than the local residents with a white collared shirt and black dress pants, but what he wore was his casual dress.

"Mornin' Steven!" a man called from the dock as the man, Steven, stepped up the deck stairs. An old man in his late 70s sat at the end of the dock with his fishing rod cast out to sea

"Good morning, Julius," Steven said as he sat on the dock beside the older man and held back a yawn, "Caught anything good yet?" The older man shook his head with a grunt.

"No, and I heard that this ain't just a bad spot neither," the elder said nodding his head down the shoreline, "Marcus and Lyla ain't having any luck neither..."

"It could be this storm that supposed to hit..." Steven pounderd as the elder looked to the rising sun staining the sky a deep red and orange.

"Red skys in mornin..." the elder said quietly before a scream tore across the air.

"Help!" the voice yelled, "Please help!" Steven stood quickly and scanned the water for the source of the scream and saw a swimmer struggling towards the shore. The elder stood as Steven ran off the dock.

"What is it my boy?" Julius said shouted as the swimmer neared the shore.

"Someone's hurt badly!" the swimmer called as he finally reached shore with a body lugged over his back. Steven ran into the surf and helped the swimmer pull the injured person to shore.

"Julious go get Joy!" Steven shouted as he laid the body on the sand away from the surf. It was a woman; young. Steven laid an ear to her chest and heard no pulse so he checked her neck and still felt nothing. Steven looked up and saw one of the locals sprinting towards him with a CPR pack in hand. He grabbed in and went to work pumping and breathing life back into the still body.

Minutes passed until the woman gasped and sputtered out water. The swimmer helped her face the sand as she coughed up more and more sea water. It was then that Steven noticed two quarter sized holes, one on the back of her right shoulder and one in her side. Blood was pouring from the holes and as she lay back on the sand, he noticed the same sized holes in the same place. His blood ran cold as he realized that she had been shot. He began digging through the CPR pack for anything that could stop the bleeding as Joy and two other townsfolk came running to them.

"What happened?" she asked as she knelt down beside the woman who was quickly fading once again.

"I found her on one of the Rouge islands," the swimmer said as he helped the woman onto a stretcher. The woman whimpered in pain as they lifted her and began carrying her towards the pokecenter.

"Joy, she's been shot," Steven said grimly as he jogged to keep up with the nurse. The nurse frozen for a split second before continuing with the group as they entered the pokecenter and climbed up the stairs.

Her eyes stayed close at the bright sunlight, but her skin soaked in the warmth it gave off. She felt a deep rumble underneath her and saw she was laid up against Silas as was Riley and Altia. Her body felt heavy as if her body was replaced with lead, but she felt like she was floating. She groaned and nestled herself into Silas's fur.

"I wish I could never leave..." she muttered to herself and she felt Silas raise his head and look at her. He shifted his body and gently bit down on her side. At first, she didn't mind. It actually felt good as he started biting down harder and harder until it felt like it was going to bust open, but she didn't shove him off. The pain felt too familiar to drive away.

Then, the sunlight began to fade away and Silas suddenly let her go. He stood, making her fall to the ground and him, Riley, and Altia walked away as Lexi watched with half opened eyes. She didn't want to move anymore, but she wanted that pain back. Her body was numb and she didn't feel real anymore and that pain gave her something to grab onto.

 _"She'll be fine,"_ a voice said, " _We gave her some pain meds, but there is no telling when she'll wake up..."_

"No..." Lexi mumbled quietly and turned in the uncomfortable grass, "I want Silas and Riley and Altia back..." The grass didn't smell like grass. It smelt too clean almost like sheets…

Steven stood beside the woman's bed as Joy finished giving what pain relief she could. Now that she was cleaned up, they noticed multiple gashes across her chest, stomach and legs that required stitches. It was one of the few things they could do with the supplies they had.

"I tried to get the bullets out, but they're too far in her to get out without surgery," Joy said as the woman mumbled something that they couldn't understand, All we can do is give her pain meds and hope that storm won't last as long as predicted..."

"You have to skill thought don't you?" Steven asked.

"We have someone in town yes, but we don't have the necessary supplies to operate," she said grimly, "And not to mention that we don't know how well she'll react to being cut open by complete strangers..."

"But if we leave those bullets in her then it could cause more damage and maybe even kill her," Steven protested as he looked down at the woman, "And we need to find out who would do this to someone," the nurse was silent for a few minutes.

"You're right," she said finally, "We have to try, but how are we going to get the supplies?"

"Leave that to me," Steven said as he grabbed his coat from a nearby chair, "I'll fly out to the mainland and see if I can buy some supplies,"

"Your father may be able to help," the nurse said as the woman began groaning in pain before Joy gave her more pain meds, "I'll get a hold of the villager and get ready for the operation," Ssteven pulled on his coat and walked down to the first floor. He pulled out his own pokeball as he walked out into the pouring rain. He released his Skarmory as lightning streaked across the sky. The metal hawk screeched before Steven placed a calming hand on its body.

"I need you're help getting to the mainland," he shouted over the poured rain and thunder. The bird screeched a question and Steven shook his head, "This is important," The bird screeched a replied and dipped a wing allowing Steven to climb on and the pair took off into the sky.

Steven kept his head down and let Skarmory find his own way through the storm. As they climbed higher and higher into the sky, the thunder became louder and louder and the lightning struck closer until they finally made it above the clouds. The storm raged below them, but they were high enough up that it couldn't touch them. Skarmory screeched a question.

"We need medical supplies," Steven shouted over the roaring wind, "And I know that Devon corporation has more than enough," Skarmory screeched a reply and began soaring towards Rustboro. They landed within 5 minutes just outside the town. As Steven hopped off, the Skarmory became jumpy. Steven looked out into the woods they had landed, but saw nothing of danger to them and continued on into the city.

He found his father in his office space, look out at the city and the looming storm that had yet to hit Rustboro. Steven tried to straighten himself up, but his jacket was soaking wet and everything about his outfit was disheveled and dirty.

"You're back early," his father said as Steven walked it, "Did you swim across the sea to get here?" he asked jokingly and Steven could help but grin.

"No, but I had to fly through the storm to get here," he said. His father frowned and sat in his chair at his desk.

"What's wrong?" he asked leaning back in the chair.

"I need medical supplies," he said calmly and his father nodded in response, "Someone washed up on the beach this morning and they don't have the supplies to help them,"

"Why not fly them here?" his father asked.

"She's in very bad shape and the storm is very bad. I barely made it out myself,"

"How bad is bad?" he asked.

"She was shot," Steven answered shortly, "Once in the solder and once in the side," his father nodded slowly and lowered his head in thought. He then pressed a button on his phone and spoke calmly

"I need Doctor San to my office," he said and clicked the phone off as he sighed deeply. He looked up at his son who was still standing stifly.

"It is a very kind thing for you to do this for just one person," his father said as Steven relaxed a bit, "I'm sure she will be very grateful when she wakes up,"

"We still need to find out who did this," Steven said defiantly and his father nodded in agreement

"I agree, but right now we need to help you're friend heal," he said as a knock came from the door, "Come in," his father said as an older man in his mid 50s walked in.

"You called for me sir?" the man asked as he stood beside Steven.

"Yes," he answered, "I need you to prepare medical supplies for surgery,"

"Sir?" the doctor asked.

"There is someone that requires your expertise," he said swiftly and nodded towards Steven. "If you would be so kind as to go with my son..."

"Yes, sir," the doctor nodded and walked out the room.

"I'm guessing you landed outside of town?" his father asked and Steven nodded his head, "I might be easier if you bring Skarmory closer," Steven nodded and made his way out the room and back to his waiting Skarmory.

When he got there, his Skarmory was screeching into the shadowed forest. Steven looked and saw a faint glimmer of light about 30 feet away. Then, a low growl filled the air as the light slowly faded away. Steven calmed his Skarmory down and traveled back to the Devon building where Doctor San stood waiting with two bags full of medical supplies. Steven fashioned the bags onto his Skarmory and the three took off towards the sky.

Joy was waiting for them when the landed and quickly took the bags and rushed them inside as Steven returned his Skarmory to its ball.

"I'm glad you brought help," she said as they rushed upstairs, "Her condition is getting worse,"

"How much worse?" the doctor asked as she lead them to the make shift surgery room where a table was already cleaned off and ready as Doctor San began taking out his tools.

"She's not responding to anything," the nurse said, "I'm afraid that she's going it a coma,"

"Steven, go get her," the doctor said as Joy helped him set up. Steven briskly jogged to her room and his blood froze.

She was much paler than when he last saw her. Her bandages were soaked with blood and some were even dripping onto her skin and the bed. She made no noise as he picked her up and her breathing was soft and shallow.

"Go go," Doctor San shooed him out as he set her down on the table, "I can't work with this many people in here..." Joy glanced at him before she went to work helping the doctor. Steven went back down stairs and tried to find someway to distract himself until they were done

She was back home at Kalos laying on the couch. Her mother was in the kitchen, but she couldn't see her dad. Silas, Riley, and Altia were laid up against the fire sleeping. The room was dimly lit and warm, making her wanting to go back to sleep.

"Don't go to sleep, hun" her mother said from the kitchen and Lexi frowned, "It's too close to dinner time,"

"Dad's not even home yet..." Lexi responded, but listened to her mother and tried to stay awake.

"He won't be home for a while..." her mother said.

"How come?" Lexi asked as she sat up and looked towards the kitchen. Her mother had her back to her and her long brown hair tumbled down her back to her waist.

"He's just busy, sweetheart," she said and walked towards her with a bowl in her hand, "And you will be too, remember?"

"I am?" she asked as her mother sat beside her on the couch and handed her the bowl full of a salty smelling soup. Lexi sneered away, "I'm not really hungry,"

"You need to eat hun," her mother said with a kind smile. Lexi looked for a moment before she took a sip of the soup.

"I'm glad you're eating..." her mother said as she finished the bowl and handed it back to her mother, "Feel less tired now?"

"Yeah actually," Lexi said as she stretched her arms high above her head. Her mother chuckled and kissed her on the forehead.

"Be safe out there okay?" she asked with sadness in her brown eyes and Lexi furrowed her brows, "You know that I love you right?"

"Yeah why wouldn't I?" she asked and then she noticed the lights becoming dimmer and dimmer, "Mom?" she asked as she started to panic.

"I'm so proud of you and I love you so much..." her mother voice echoed in the growing darkness before her mother disappeared completely from view and she was left in the darkness. The warmth faded along with her mother and all she could do was looked blindly in the dark.

Then, a beeping sound cut through the darkness and Lexi turned her head at the sound, but it only grew louder and louder until it sounded like it was right next to her ears. She forced her eyes open, and bright light flooded her sight.

"Can you turn those lights down?" a female voice asked and the bright light faded enough that she could somewhat see. She was laying in a bed and she felt sticky. Her eyes lazily drifted to the pink haired woman standing beside her bed smiling at her.

"Abbie?" Lexi croaked out and the woman shook her head.

"No," she replied, "My name is Joy. Do you know where you are?" Lexi frowned and drifted her eyes across the room. The coloring of the walls suggested that this was a pokecenter, but where?

"No," she answered stilling looking around the room. She locked eyes with a silver haired man through the window of her room. He looked at her and she frowned again, "Who are you people?"

"Do you remember anything?" Abbie asked and Lexi closed her eyes. Yeah she remembered. Vaguely anyway.

"Kind of," Lexi said as she opened her eyes and looked back Joy, "It's blurry, but..."

"Tell us what you remember," she said softly and Lexi closed her eyes again.

"I remember I was with the Professor and my father was there. There was a fight and..." she fell quiet, "Silas!" She bolted up in her bed and immanently regretted it. Her side and shoulder busted in pain and her head began to swim. Her vision went completely white and she felt Joy grab her good shoulder.

"Easy," she said as she laid her back into the bed, "You've been hurt very badly..."

"My Pyroar..." she groaned, "Silas. I need to find him..."

"You need to rest..." Joy said.

"No you don't understand..." she said weakly as she started fading once more, "He's in trouble… My father..." she never finished her sentence as she fell back into unconsciousness. Joy sighed as Steven walked into the room and looked down at the woman.

"At least we have somewhat of an idea of what happened," Joy said as she looked at the womans vitals on screen, "Which professor do you think the fight was with?"

"I don't know..." Steven said, "But she seemed very concerned about the saftey of her Pyroar,"

"Those aren't from Hoenn..." the nurse said and Steven nodded his head.

"They're from the Kalos region only," Steven muzed, "It's possible she concerned because her Pyroar is for contests,"

"We'll have to wait until she wakes up to find out," the nurse said, "Get some sleep. We have a spare bed down stairs..."

"No, I'll just sleep in one of the chairs," Steven said as he made his way to the sitting area in the room, "I don't think it's a good idea to leave someone unattended when they have no idea where they are,"

"If you say so," the nurse said as she pulled out a spare pillow and blanket from the cabnit and handed it too him, "Let me know if she wakes up during the night," After that, she shut the lights off and left to her own room, leaving Steven alone with only the sound of the gently beeping to fill the air. He made a makeshift bed in the recliner and fell into a gentle sleep.

 **AN: So yeah that happened lol this story is gonna be a bit gorier than most, but I honestly didn't plan for Lexi to get shot, but now that thats happened I'm gonna see how far I can make this. So, guns in my version of pokemon are one of the most dangerous things that a person can use in anyway, so they're illegal in all regions but her dad is a lunatic and has shot and killed quite a few pokemon and keeps it in their home for "Protection" against the pokemon. Be sure to let me know if you get my sneaky easter egg in this chapter and review, favorite, and follow!**


	5. Who are you?

She slept for three days straight. Even through the roaring thunder and pounding rain, she made no sign of waking. Steven and Joy took turns watching over her sleeping form. She was out of deaths way yes, but there were other dangers that could harm her. Sickness and infection could set in from the ocean or from any stray bacteria from the makeshift operating room, but as the days passed the fear and worry eventually faded as her vitals stayed steady.

It was getting late in the evening as Joy locked up the center for the night and the local townsfolk turned in for the night. Steven sat in her room, curled up on the couch with a book in hand. Suddenly, a small voice came from the bed.

"Who are you?" the girl asked as Steven looked up from his book. Bright green eyes stared at him from the bed. A brilliant green...

"My name is Steven," he said calmly and the woman continued to stare at him with a frown. Steven just went back to his book but he could tell that she was still watching him.

"What did you have to do with this?" she asked again.

"Do with what?" Steven replied not looking up from his book.

"With me getting here..." she said and started coughing. Steven looked towards her and saw her sitting up with some difficulty. He closed the book and shift towards her, "I remember seeing you when I woke up, through the window.."

"I gave you CPR when a swimmer brought you onto shore and flew a doctor here when we didn't have the supplies for your surgery," he said calmly and she stared at the sheets; rubbing them between her fingers.

"Hm..." she said and swung her legs off the bed and onto the floor. Steven stood.

"Where are you going?" he asked as she struggled to walk after four days of laying in bed. She started to fall before Steven dashed and caught her by the elbow, "You're still really weak from all thats happened..."

"No you don't understand..." she said grabbing onto the edge of the bed for support, "My father will kill him..."

"Kill who?" he asked as she coughed again. She trembled slightly.

"Silas," she said, "My pyroar. He has the rest of my team and my father was shooting at us..."

"Your father?" Steven asked in disbelief and she looked at him with her piercing eyes.

"You've already done so much for me..." she started, "But please help me again..." Steven sighed deeply. Joy would kill him if she knew that she took her out so soon after her surgery.

"Alright," he said as he helped her out the room and quietly down the stairs. She was slowly getting back used to walking as Steven pulled out his Skarmory from its ball. The bird screeched before Steven placed a hand on its beak and shushed it quietly. The woman carefully put a shaking hand on the bird and smoothed down its metallic feathers.

"Never seen a Skarmory before?" Steven asked as his mounted the creature and the woman looked up at him with sparkling eyes. Steven smiled and reached down and hand to her and helped her onto the Skarmorys back as he quietly took off towards the sky.

"Where are we going?" Steven asked back towards the woman whose arms were wrapped tightly around Stevens waist.

"Littleroot," she said over the roaring wind, "That's the first place I can think to look," The Skarmory screeched and altered its course. She held on tighter as the passed over the shoreline and nearly fell of when the came into land in the small town. She ran to a house and banged on the door.

"Professor? Professor Birch its me!" she cried and had one hand on the door to steady herself. Steven rushed over just as the door opened.

"Lexi?!" a male voice cried and a middle aged man embraced her in a tight hug, "I was so worried after you're father ran after you and Silas and..."

"I fell and now I can't find Silas," she said, "I've been on this island and I was shot..."

"He actually shot you?" the professor cried as he let her go and held her by her shoulders at arms length.

"I have Steven to thank for me still being here," she said and looked back toward Steven. The professor looked up and him and crossed towards him.

"Thank you, Mr. Stone," the professor said with a grateful smile and Lexi grabbed onto the Professors arm.

"We need to find Silas," she said desperately. The professor glanced down at her.

"No," he said defiantly, "Your fathers lost his mind and fled into the woods and you are still too hurt to go on a search party,"

"He's after Silas..."

"and Silas is smart," the professor said, "I've already received reports of a strange fire type hiding in the woods and I'm willing to bet that its him. I know he is looking for you too, but I also know that he will be pretty upset if he finds out that I allowed you to fight after a massive injury," she glanced over at Steven who nodded in agreement.

"It's possible that Silas is hunting down your father..." Steven said somberly, "After watching you get shot..."

"That's why we need to find him!" she yelled. Suddenly, Steven's Skarmory screeched and drifted towards her as she dropped her head. Silent tears fell as the Skarmory cooed and tucked its head under her chin. She wrapped her arms tightly around the birds neck.

"Stay here for the night," the professor said more to Steven than to Lexi, "I appreciate your concern and bringing her here, but she is emotionally unstable and needs someone she is at least somewhat familiar with,"

"I agree," Steven said as the Skarmory continued to try and comfort her, "I just want to know what happened..."

"Let's go inside," the professor said looking to the fading light in the sky, "It's getting late..." The group slowly filed inside; Lexi practically being carried in by the Skarmory.

An hour later and Lexi had settle down on a pallet on the floor by the fire with the Skarmory and two other pokemon, the professors Skitty and the Lotad from the pond, curled up beside her asleep. A discarded plate of chicken and veggies sat beside a glass of water as voices came from the kitchen.

"It all just happened so fast," the professor said, "the next thing I knew, she had lunged at him and managed to get him to the ground before her and Silas ran into the woods. I tried to follow them or stop her dad, but I didn't want to risk me or my family being shot..." Steven sat at the table with a cup of coffee in his hands. The professor and his wife sat across from him with similar cups.

"We heard gun shots for a while and we could hear him yelling at her," his wife said, "He said terrible things… She had told us the relationship she had with her family, but we didn't think it would get this bad..."

"Her father must have a lot of influence in order to smuggle a gun here all the way from Kalos," Steven muzed as he took a sip of his drink.

"She's just so kind.." his wife wept, "And the things she's told us..."

Lexi listened from her makeshift bed as they talked. Spoke of the fight and wondered how it could have happened. All she did was tuck herself tighter as the Skarmory adjusted its self to lay its head across her back. She didn't care for her safety; she just wanted her friends back. She kept her eyes closed as she felt the floor shake as someone walked towards her and knelt down beside her. She felt Skarmory lift its head.

"I know you're still awake," Steven said softly, "The professor and his wife have turned in for the night," Lexi peaked open her eyes and saw the kitchen light off and Stevens face lit by the dying fire. She looked up at him and he smiled kindly, warming her more than the fire.

"What do you want?" she asked as he sat down with a fresh plate of food.

"I want your side of the story," he said as the Skitty and Lotad woke up and sniffed at the steaming food.

"They told you all of it," she replied and her vision drifted down to the little Lotad who was weakly squeaking at Steven before it was handed a slice of grilled cucumber.

"They told me what happened yes, but I wanna know about you," he said watched the Lotad and Skitty argue over the grilled veggie before Steven placed a small piece of grilled chicken by the Skitty. Lexi sighed deeply and curled up against the Skarmory, but Steven didn't move. He was content with feeding the two pokemon bits of leftovers, but he was hopping she would open up to him. They sat in a somewhat comfortable silence as he continued to feed the two pokemon and his Skarmory, until she finally spoke up.

"You're going to make him fat if you keep feeding him," she said and the Lotad turned and squeaked loudly at her. She blew on his face and he crawled towards her with a piece of grilled cucumber tucked in its mouth. It stopped in front of her face and dropped it by her mouth, but she turned her face away. The Lotad squeaked again.

"And you'll make him mad if you don't eat," Steven replied and Lexi looked over at him and then looked down at the Lotad. She slowly pushed herself up and took a bite of the grilled veggie which was rewarded with a delighted squeak from Lotad as it shuffled back towards Steven.

"Is he apart of your team?" Steven asked as he handed the Lotad another piece and began shuffling back to her.

"I don't have a team," she said taking the piece from the Lotads mouth and carefully chewing on it, "I've never actually been in a battle before..."

"You seem to have a way with Pokemon," Steven said flipping a piece to his Skarmory who caught it easily, "I'm actually surprised you aren't a trainer,"

"My father would never have allowed it..." she said almost shamefully, "He's very against pokemon,"

"How come?" Steven asked and Lexi sighed deeply. Lotad stood on its one good leg and fell backwards, but she picked the creature up and held it in her lap as it softly chirped.

"My mother was attacked when I was little," she said stroking the lilly pad atop the creature, "No one was ever found guilty, but several pokemon were found injured nearby from where she was attacked. It was ruled a freak accident, but my father took extreme measures to keep them as fart away from us as possible..."

"And your mother?" He asked quietly, but she kept her gaze to the ground.

"She got really sick," she said, "She lost use of her legs soon after the attack and lost her voice. We moved here from Kalos for the cleaner air,"

"I see," Steven pondered. She sighed again and his Skarmory rested it head on her shoulder and she reassured it with a gentle pat.

"I found Silas and my Lucario, Riley, near route 22. They were both so small and helpless so I tried to help them, but soon they started following me home. My father would have killed them and sold their skins if he had found them, but thankfully he never did until a few days ago,"

"Thankfully," Steven echoed and she chuckled for the first time in days. Steven couldn't help but smile as she looked up at nothing in particular.

"I used to sneak off either during the day or night just to make sure they were okay," she said wistfully, "I remember I went to see them one night and they had grown up. They were bigger, stronger, but they were still the same devils I remembered them as," she seemed to light up when she spoke of them, and Steven was honestly starting to wonder how someone so kind and loving towards almost everything could have such a terrible life…

Once she started talking, she couldn't seem to stop. The hours passed like minutes as she told stories about Silas and Riley; about her home and the things she did. She spoke of the changes she noticed in her father and her mothers declining health. She laid out her entire life story and the more she told him, the more he understood what had happened. He knew who she was now and for once, Lexi didn't care. This wasn't her father or the Professor; she didn't need to watch what she said around Steven and it almost felt like a weight had lifted off her chest. She spoke until her eyes grew heavy and she yawned between almost every word, but Steven didn't suggest her getting some sleep. She would sleep once she ran out of life to tell.

It was around sunrise when she finally fell back asleep. She had fallen asleep surrounded by a mass of pillows that had somehow found its way to the floor around them. The fire had long since died and the pair had to scramble to find blankets in the dark. They both had fallen asleep as the sun began peaking through the windows and the professor walked down stairs to find them both sleeping peacefully under a mass of blankets and pokemon.

But during the night, gunshots rang clear through the woods. He father had been hunting Silas nonstop since he first saw the Pyroar, but for now it seemed that the crazed man had stopped, at least for the night. Regardless, Silas kept moving until he found a safe enough spot to rest. He managed to pile together a small pile of sticks and light it before digging out the other two pokeballs and releasing his teammates.

Riley was the first out and was immediately on guard before her feet even touched the ground. Silas grunted softly and she calmed down as he released Altia, who had grown quite a bit since they found her. The once small pidgy was now much larger, large enough that she could support her body weight in flight. The trio settled down in the darkness, but each was clearly able to see the others.

" _Where are we?"_ Riley silently muttered to the other and Silas grunted and sniffed the air.

 _"Near a desert, by my guess,"_ he replied lowering his head to the ground, " _The scent of the sea is hard to find here..."_

 _"_ _Are you sure we are still in Hoenn?"_ Altia asked with a slight flutter of her wings.

 _"The only way off Hoenn is by boat,"_ Riley answered, " _And I don't think we've been anywhere near a boat,"_

 _"Not with her father hunting us,"_ Silas added, _"I've stayed away from the towns and cities to avoid unnecessary loss,"_

 _"But that could stop him couldn't it?"_ Riley asked and Silas grunted once more and laid his head on the dirt, _"You've heard them since the mock battle haven't you?"_

 _"They say that he will be taken care of in time,"_ Silas spoke, _"I have also been reassured that Lexi is fine,"_

 _"What have they said about her?"_ Altia asked nervously.

 _"She was spared from the sea and was placed in human care,"_ Silas answered, _"I have not heard anything since..."_

 _"I'm sure we will hear soon..."_ Riley hopped, _"Let us rest...I'_ _ll_ _keep first watch,"_ Silas sighed and was asleep within a few minutes. Altia stayed up and flew to the treetops to survey the land while Riley watched for ground threats. Her ears were tuned for footsteps or gunshots.

A few hours later, Altia whistled softly before something crashed through the tree line, startling Riley and Silas. Riley went on the attack immediately and snarled at the object until Silas rose and nosed the item.

 _"What is it?"_ Altia asked as she glided down from the tree tops, _"I saw a streak of red across the sky and it fell in front of me before I could grab it,"_

 _"Is it a weapon?"_ Riley asked as Silas rolled it over and then picked it up gently in his jaws.

 _"It doesn't seem like it..."_ Silas said and as he breathed the object made soft pitched tones that made Riley's fur stand on end and Altia tossed her head. Silas dropped it and turned it over with his paw.

 _"I think it is one of those noise makers the humans play,"_ he said hooking a claw in one of the holes

 _"_ _Noise maker?"_ Altia asked with a tilt of her head, " _What do you mean?"_

 _"Back home the humans would dance and sing with this noise that came from these things the other humans would blow through. Some of it actually sounded very good,"_ Riley said as Silas picked up the object and put it back into the bag.

 _"We need to get moving,"_ he said with a quick sniff of the air, _"That mad man is closer than I'd like him to be,"_

 _"What about Lexi?"_ Altia asked as Silas slid his massive head through to bag strap and shook it down to his chest.

 _"We need to loop around this mountain,"_ he said nodding his head towards the towering land to the east of them, _"I would be quicker to double back, but I do not want to risk running into that lunatic. We are heading back to the professors house,"_ He trotted past Riley and the trio continued their treak.

 _"How do you know she's there?"_ Riley asked as Altia drifted a few feet off the ground beside her.

 _"She has no where else to go,"_ Silas replied, _"And we have no where else to go either,"_ A distant shout filled the air along with a gunshot and the smell of smoke. The trio broke into a sprint deeper into the woods to hide.

Steven woke up first _,_ but didn't actually get up for about 10 minutes. He groaned and rolled his head to see Lexi sleeping peacefully with the Lotad on her stomach and Skarmory tucked under her arm. The Skitty had curled itself up at his waist and purred as he stroked its back. He finally sat up, much to the Skittys discomfort, to the sound of dishes clinking against one another. He peered over the couch to see the Professor washing dishes. He quietly stood and made his way to the kitchen.

"You two much have slept nice," the Professor said quietly so to not wake up Lexi. Steven yawned and stretched his arms high above his head, "I heard you two talking last night,"

"Yeah?" Steven said as he sat at the table and ran his fingers through his hair to comb it down.

"Thank you," the Professor said as he dried off a dish, "She need's someone to confide in during a time like this." Steven was silent for a minute as he processed the Professors words.

"I honestly didn't think you were telling the truth..." Steven said, "but she told me so many things,"

"No one should go through something like that," the Professor said somberly,"How are her injuries?"

"I haven't checked," Steven said, "but she didn't seem to be in too much pain last night,"

"There's no telling if she pulled out a stitch or not," The Professor said drying the last plate and leaning on the counter towards Steven, "And Nurse Joy won't be too happy if you took her out and ruined her stitching work," Steven turned rose pink with embarrassment and the Professor chuckled and shook his head, "Alright then I'll do it," He crossed the kitchen and onto the makeshift palate where Lexi was still sleeping peacefully. Steven followed, but watched from behind the couch.

His Skarmory raised its head, cooed softly at the Professor, stood and picked up the still sleeping Lotad off her stomach and over to Steven. He gently took the Lotad as the Professor gently shook her awake. She grunted in response and pulled the blanket closer to her body in abscense of the Lotad and Skarmory that kept her warm through the night. Slowly, her eyes opened and looked around lazily.

"We need to check your stitches," the Professor said kindly and she grunt in response before she sat up with a yawn. She shook her head slightly and took off her shirt.

Steven felt heat creep up his cheeks as he turned away, but not before he got sight of the various cuts and bruises on her skin. He saw the stitches on her back before she turned to face the Professor. Steven heard her grunt in pain as the Professor tested her stitching with a quick pressure test.

"How do you feel?" he asked and Steven forced himself to look back. She sat up with her eyes half closed and flinching slightly in pain. A white bra covered her chest and showed scarred bits of skin mixed with smooth skin. She was toned, but Steven honestly didn't know why.

"Like I just got hit with a small car," she replied, "Which is an improvement actually,"

"Well, that's good to hear," the Professor said, "Now you can put your shirt back on. I think you're embarrassing him,"

"Oh, I'm sure he's seen it before," she joked looking over at him. He chuckled and shook his head as she pulled the shirt back over her head. "What time is it?"

"A little past noon," the Professor said as he helped her stand, "You two slept for quite a while,"

"Are we going to search for Silas and the others?" she said and looked at the Professor. He sighed and rubbed the back of his head.

"I've had people out looking and people have been reporting gunshots all across the island, but none were heard since early this morning,"

"Well, that could be a good thing," Lexi said hopefully, "Maybe someone caught him..."

"Let's hope," he said, "For now, you two can help me with my research if you want," He turned towards Steven, "Are you busy, Mr. Stone?"

"I'm actually on vacation for two weeks so I've got more than enough time," he said and Lexi raised an eyebrow at him. He shrugged it off as the three made their way outside.

They didn't work for long. In fact, they didn't even really work. The Professor talked to her about the different pokemon from Hoenn and Kalos and their differences. He spoke about the move differences and power abilities as they walked in the woods. For Steven, it was nice to do something, but not actually do something. It was a weird concept for him to grasp, but Lexi fell right into it. She asked questions and just relaxed despite the threat looming nearby.

Midway through the walk, nearly evening time, the ground shook violently. Enough that the three of them were almost throw to the ground. The Tailow they were observing flew away as fast as possible, screeching a warning call to the other pokemon. Lexi looked around as she heard thundering come closer and closer. She stomach sank as she heard a loud crack and the cry of a bird.

 **AN: So this is the most I've written and I'm honestly so proud of myself because my stories have a habit of ending quicker than I would like them to, but anyway! Thanks to all who have reviewed and favorited and followed the story and special thanks to Silverleone for pointing out so rather rookie mistakes on my part, but I'm gonna be honest with y'all I'm terrible at spelling so any errors or flaws you notice in anything I post please let me know because this is how I better my writing and stuffs. I also wanna say that I'm writing Steven to be a gentleman type character(cause lets be honest most silver haired guys are gentlemen coughcough Victor cough) so the reason why he's blushing in the first place when Birch is checking her stitches is because he thinks its rude to impose on her personal space even though Lexi doesn't care.**

 **Anyway, let me know what you guys think cause I think its coming along pretty good myself :)**


	6. Swallowed by sorrow and sand

A massive weight pinned Steven to the ground and he felt talons dig into his shoulders. The fall knocked his breath out, but he was still aware of the two other beings that had appeared from the woods.

"Silas?" Lexi asked as the Pyroar leaped from the woods with Riley at his side. She ran to the two and wrapped them in a tight hug, "Thank god you two are okay!" Silas rubbed his head against her hair and growled softly. He barked softly and Lexi turned to see Altia pinning Steven on the ground with the Professor too stunned to react. The grown Pidgey screeched in Steven face and he looked up at the bird in complete shock.

"Altia," she said as she pulled to massive bird off him, "He's a friend I promise." The bird let him go and screeched softly at her before butting her stomach with her head. Silas barked and tossed his head to get her attention. He began to leap about towards the woods.

"If they're here..." the Professor started, but was cut off by a loud crack and the ground beside Silas busting open. Silas roared as Altia and Riley stood beside Lexi as her father emerged from the woods. The Professor walked up in front of her as Steven pulled himself up and stood behind her. All five of them were ready to fight in order to keep her from her father.

"There you are..." he cooed and Silas bared his teeth and snarled. Her father was dirty and his clothes were torn. Dried blood traced down his skin and his skin was mixed with different blues and purples. His rifle was the only thing that wasn't damaged in anyway. He truly had lost his mind.

"Give me back my daughter!" he screamed and Lexi shrank slightly, "You all are a part of it! You're all monsters!"

"You've lost it Joseph," the Professor said calmly as Silas backed up to Lexi, "Give this up before you get yourself even more hurt." Her father chuckled darkly.

"It's you that will get hurt," he said with a crazed look in his eyes, "Don't you know that these creatures will kill us all?!"

"They don't want to hurt us!" Lexi cried and Riley placed a paw out to stop her from moving forward, "They've done nothing to hurt me at all! None of them have!"

"You stupid brat..." her father muttered darkly and dropped his gaze to the ground, "They are only messengers...it's their Masters you need to watch out for..." Lexi shook her head slightly as Silas roared once more and dropped low to the ground.

"Drop the gun," the Professor said again, "You can still walk away from this..." Her father looked up at her with dark eyes and she knew that he wasn't going to listen; he was too far gone.

Things moved in slow motion as her father brought the rifle up to his shoulder. She saw the Professor ran towards him and she felt Steven grab her arm, but she pulled back.

"Riley, Psychic!" she yelled and Riley seemed to be waiting on the command. The Lucario raised both arms toward her father and a sound wave released from her paws towards her father. She heard a bang and she closed her eyes, ready for the bullet to hit her but it never came. She opened her eyes to see the bullet suspended midfight and her father on the ground with the rifle tossed away from his reach. He looked up at her and growled.

"Get out of here!" the Professor cried as he dove for the gun. She stood still, before Steven pulled her arm and helped her onto Silas. She shook her head as Silas's roar brought her back and she gripped his mane tightly. He leaped out into the woods as she heard another gunshot.

She gasped when she heard something hit behind her. She glanced back and saw Steven being lowered onto Silas's back by Altia as Riley ran along side them. He looked just as confused as she did as she turned back to the front to see where Silas was taking them.

"We need to get the Rustboro!" Steven cried as he held onto her waist, "I don't think he'll follow us there!" Lexi groaned at the pain Silas's gallops were putting on her wounds and closed her eyes. She pushed herself up and tucked a leg under her body to move with his gallops and keep steady.

Suddenly, he skidded to a stop at a fork in the path.

 _"_ _Why did you stop?"_ Riley cried as she stopped beside him. He sniffed the air and panted.

"Where are we going Silas?" Lexi asked quietly as she placed a hand on the Pyroars neck.

 _"We need to move!"_ Riley cried and Silas snapped at her.

 _"Hush!"_ he barked. He sniffed again and started trotting down the path to the left. Altia cried high in the sky and Silas alter his path as the forest fell away into a sandy stretch of beach.

 _"Follow my steps exactly,"_ he growled to Riley as he carefully padded across the sand. Lexi readjusted herself and looked out across the empty sand field and at the ocean in the distance. A giant shadow cast across the ground and she looked and saw Altia flying high above the ground in a pattern.

"What is he doing?" Steven asked as he did the same. Riley growled softly, but Silas cut her off.

 _"They don't understand us,"_ he said as his eyes followed Altia's shadow. Off to the side, he saw a pair of eyes peak up from the sand before digging back under.

A gunshot rang out and Silas fought the urge to run. Lexi yelped and both her and Steven ducked, but the bullet flew harmlessly over them. Then Silas turned and faced the forest.

Off in the distance, her father stood at the edge of the woods, bloodied and one of his arm hung limp at his side. He still had the gun, but without another arm to aim it was impossible for him to shoot them from so far away.

 _"I'm truly sorry for what is about to happen,"_ Silas turned his head to say to her even though he knew she couldn't understand him. She stroked his mane as he roared at the man who started running at the as fast as he could towards them.

The four of the watched as he sank into the sand as if it was water. They watched him struggle as the sand seemed to come alive. Creatures buried underneath darted towards him and Lexi turned as her father cried out in pain. She squeezed her eyes closed as tight as she could as she felt Steven grab her head and hold it tightly. She opened her eyes and looked at him as tears fell from her eyes and he wrapped her in the best hug he could manage. Silas let out a long sorrow filled bellow to block out the noise of his dying screams, and to let out his own regret. Soon his screams and cries were muffled by the sand and eventually stopped all together. The creatures eventually dragged his body down deeper into the sand and the sand field was quiet and still once more.

 _"May our God be kind and merciful."_ Riley muttered and Silas grunted. Lexi didn't want to move. She didn't want to breath. He was still her _father_.

"Take me home, Silas." she said calmly as Steven let go of her, but still held her hand tightly. Silas grunted and followed his steps back to the woods. She kept looking forward even as they passed the spot her father had fallen in with the sand now stained a dark crimson.

She was numb the entire ride back to her home. They all were. The only light they had now was the soft warm glow from Silas's mane. She eventually wrapped her arms around the pyroars neck and felt a rumble deep in his chest. Steven stayed silent as well, processing the days events. Even though he came from a different direction. Silas was still able to lead the group back to the home, which was still lit.

She slide off Silas's back and he whined softly. She simply stroked his head as she made her way into the house as Altia landed beside them.

 _"It needed to be done, Silas,"_ Riley said as Steven Slide off Silas's back and followed Lexi inside, _"He would have killed us all if we hadn't done something."_

 _"I know,"_ Silas said as he laid down on the ground and rested his head on his paws, " _I just wish she didn't need to see..."_

The house was a ransacked mess. Drawers were pulled out and everything from clothes to medicine was scattered across the ground. Lexi walked in slowly, still not speaking. She should feel angry at her father; she should feel sorrow for watching him die, but all she felt was numbness.

She walked into her parents room and found her mother laying face down on the ground. She wasn't breathing. Lexi slowly walked over and knelt down to her body, and gently pushed her onto her back. Blood dripped from the corner of her lips and her brown eyes were glassed over. Lodged in her stomach was a knife from the kitchen; no doubt put there by her father. Lexi covered her mouth to try and hold in a sob, but it was no use. She laid over her mothers body and cried harder than she had ever cried in her life.

Outside, Riley raised her head towards the house at the sound of her sobs and Silas did the same.

 _"We did this Riley,"_ he spoke and tried to block out the sound of her cries, _"If we' hadn't found her and stayed with her than none of this would have happened,"_ Riley ignored him and walked into the house. She walked in a felt the emotions of the two people in the house. Lexi was dark and heavy and Steven was the same, but there was another feeling. This one was coming from the body laying on the ground. Riley stood in the doorway and watched her cry into Stevens shoulder for a second time that night. She walked past them and looked down at the body on the floor. She seemed...familiar, but there was a note attached to her aura.

 **Find the note…**

The days blurred together after that night. She was ushered between homes and she had more people in her face than she had ever had in her life. The police had recovered her mothers body from her home, but couldn't find anything of her father besides the rifle. The case was taken to "Court", but with no one testifying against what had happened and no one to be charged with anything, the case was thrown out within three days.

Riley had ran off during that night and only Silas and Altia had stayed by her side. Despite having them around her, she would run off during the day or night for hours at a time. The Professor and his wife knew this and let her go to grieve in peace, but they insisted that she carry a pokedex so that the Professor could keep track of her and so she wouldn't get lost. She found a spot far enough away that she couldn't see the lights from the houses or towns and faced out towards the ocean. She sat with her knee tucked to her chest and was going to do something she hadn't done in a long time.

She hadn't touch a blade with the intention of bloodletting in years and she was actually scared. The last time she had bloodlet was when she 17 which was almost 6 years ago. Her father forced her into the practice believing that her talk of Pokemon was an illness that could only be solved through bloodletting. What he father didn't know was that the self infliction became an addiction and a form of punishment for her anytime she did something wrong. She told Abbie after a particularly bad session that left her sleeping for almost two days straight and the nurse begged her to stop before she went too far and wouldn't wake up again.

She sat against a rock and twisted the pocket knife in her hand; flipping open and closing the blade all in one swift motion. Her skin felt like it was fixing to rip open out of...excitement? Fear? She honestly didn't know anymore. Even her breath was shaky… She closed her eyes and leaned back; placing the blade to her bare leg.

A small whine stopped her. She looked up and saw Riley standing over top of her with a bag secured around her shoulders and a note gripped tightly in her jaws. She quickly leaped down the rock face and to her side before Lexi even had time to pull away the blade.

"Old habits die hard I guess..." She tried to joke as Riley gripped the blade and pulled it from her grip. The Lucario sat down beside her and met her gaze, and Lexi looked away.

"I'm just sick," she said reaching back for the blade, "A child should be upset after the death of their parents." Riley took the blade and tossed it out to sea and Lexi watched it fly out of sight. She was relieved that Riley had stopped her, but mad at the same time. Riley grunted and handed her the piece of paper as she sat down with the bag opened in front of her. She glanced at the paper which was faded yellow and had stains on it.

 _My Daughter,_

 _By the time you read this I will have already passed from this world to another. I know that you must be mourning mine and your fathers death, I know you are because I have seen it. Things that were, that are, and what has yet to come. I have seen the great battle and there is so much that I wish to tell you, but my health and time left as I write this keeping me from explaining all so I will explain what it currently grieving you._

 _My death was by my own hands. My failing health has taken my voice and my strength, but I will not let it take my life. My sickness was caused by pokemon, but it was against her will that she did it. She gives life, not death, but people forced her to do this to me as punishment for my actions against them. Your father was plagued by my sickness as well. He was to act as a slave to my every need to keep me alive as long as possible so I could see the product of my failure. You would have been affected to had it not been for your love for Pokemon._

 _I have seen the woman grow up to be and I want you to know that I love you with every fiber of my being. Your love for your team and your kindness make me the proudest mother anyone could ever have. Please do not blame yourself for my death or your fathers. Please do not grow bitter and hateful at the information I have written or the items you are about to receive. Just know that I will always love you…_

Tears were freely flowing down her cheeks, but she didn't try to stop them anymore. She hadn't spoken to her mother since she was little just before the attack and to read her say that she was proud of her and that she loved her was more than she could stand to hear. Everything she thought she knew about her father was wrong. They were both sick, and it was from a pokemon. Her father was right.

Riley whined and handed her a silver bracelet with a rainbow stone in the center. Lexi took in carefully as the stone sparkled in the moonlight. Carved on the inside was the name Tailia Starlight, the name of her mother.

"Riley, what is this?" she asked as she slide the bracelet around her wrist. It fit perfectly as if it was made just for her. Riley snorted and handed her a picture book filled with sketches of different pokemon. There were snake like creatures swimming in water to a large winged creature breathing fire and there was a detailed drawing of a little girl holding a Skitty in a headlock.

"These were all moms..." She said as she looked at another detailed drawing of a woman touching heads with a beautiful pokemon like the one she has seen in the drawing at the Professors lab.

"We need to head back," she said as she pushed herself up with the book close to her chest, "Maybe the Professor can make some sense out of all this." Riley barked and placed everything back in the bag as they began the trek back.

 _"Where have you been?"_ Silas asked as the pair walked into the Professors home. Lexi walked pasted the two with a pat on their head as Riley sat the bag down.

 _"Figuring out why this all happened,"_ she said with a shake of her head, _"She was fixing to bloodlet when I found her,"_

 _"She hasn't done that in a while..."_ Silas purred as he grabbed the bag in his jaws and brought it to the place the Professor had allowed them to stay.

 _"What's bloodlet?"_ Altia asked as her talons clicked against the wooden floor.

 _"It's something her father forced her to do,"_ Riley answered, _"She would cut open her skin and drain her blood before passing out."_

 _"Oh..."_ Altia said quietly. Meanwhile, Lexi had sat down at the dinner table as the Professor and his wife began making dinner. She had the bracelet in her hand.

"You're back early," Jodie said glancing back at her, "How are you feeling?"

"Much better," Lexi answered as she watched the gem sparkle in the kitchen light, "Riley found me and came back."

"Oh?" Jodie said, "Where did she go?" Lexi shrugged even though she knew Jodie couldn't see.

"No clue," she lied, "But she did find this." Lexi held up the bracelet as Jodie turned to look at her.

"Oh wow," she said in awe as she walked over and took the bracelet from her hand, "This is beautiful..."

"It has my mothers name on the inside," she said calmer than expected, "Do you know what it is?" Jodie shook her head.

"I'm afraid I don't," she said and turned to her husband, "What about you, dear?" Professor Birch turned after washing his hands.

"I'm not good with my gems or stones," the Professor said as he took the bracelet from his wife, "But Steven will probably know." He handed the bracelet back to her and the two of them went back to making dinner while making side conversation with Lexi while she was in thought. Steven was called away a few days ago and promise to keep up with her as best he could, but it looked like she was going to be making a visit sooner than expected.

"I got a letter from Brandon this morning," the Professor said as he placed a plate of green beans on the table, "He's just arrived in Slateport to take on Watson,"

"The gym leader?" Jodie asked, "My, he really isn't stopping for anything is he?

"I suppose not," the Professor chuckled, "What about you Lexi?"

"What about me?" she asked as she snapped out of her thoughts.

"Have you thought about battling the gym leaders?" he said, "Your team is more than capable despite its small size,"

"I haven't really thought about it..." She said, "So much has happened since I first got here that I haven't really had the time to think about it much."

"Leave her be dear," Jodie said as she playfully hit him with a wooden spoon, "Just because you're Hoenns pokemon professor doesn't mean that you need to try and persuade everyone to try and become champion,"

"I know I know," the Professor said shamefully, "Lexi, I hope you can..."

"It's alright Professor," Lexi cut him off as Jodie finished placing the rest of the food, "I just...haven't had time to really think about it is all." The professor sat to her left with a smile as he handed her a plate. Jodie sat to her right and the three began digging into dinner.

Silas was curled up when she went to lay down. Altia had curled up on the armchair and Riley had fallen asleep against the fireplace. Silas raised his head as she laid down among the pillows and groaned softly. He stood and laid down beside her and placed his massive head on her stomach.

"What is it bud?" she asked as she scratched him behind his ear. He groaned again and rolled his head on her stitches, "Easy!" she hissed out and Silas lifted his head and tried to move her shirt. She carefully pulled up her shirt, stopping just under her chest.

"See?" she said and carefully rubbed the spot where her skin had been sewed back together, "It's getting a lot better and it feels better too." Silas sniffed her stitches and licked them a few times, and to Lexi surprise, it didn't sting. Silas snorted and nuzzled his way under her arms. She fell asleep holding the Pyroar in her arms as if he was a teddy bear.

 **AN: Wow I'm on a roll with updates lol I've got a lot of ideas for this story and I actually didn't want to end the chapter here, but I felt like a lot of things happened this time round. I have also decided to explore the idea of having a beta reader. A lot of the mistakes that have been pointed out to me have been small things like spelling or word usage and I think having a beta reader will help solve those problems, so if you are interested then please me know and I will see what I can do.**

 **T** **hanks to** **x** **ShinyCharizard** **for that long but well detail review on my mistakes in my last chapter and that review is actually the reason why I decided to find a beta reader so if this beta reader ruins things then I'm blaming you sweet child (Not really but you get the point seriously though thanks for the review it helped a lot) and thanks to everyone who has favorited and followed the story it means a lot to me :)**


	7. Shopping in Slateport

She woke up earlier than she usually did. She ended up being the first one awake in the whole house which surprised her. The sun had yet to rise as she ran her fingers through her thick mass of hair and straightened her clothes. Silas rose soon after her and yawned loudly while flexing his claws into a pillow.

"I hope you know where Rustboro is," she said quietly as she combed through his mane with her hand, "Because I have no idea." Silas purred under her touch and barked softly to Riley and Altia who were still sleeping. Lexi made her "bed" as the other two rose and padded over towards them.

"Morning you two," she greeted as Altia butted her head against her stomach. She smiled and pulled the bag over her good shoulder and followed Riley out the door.

Lexi shivered as the cool air hit her skin. She didn't expect an island like Hoenn to have cool weather because the region was advertised as "The land forever in Summer!", but it reminded her of Kalos so she wouldn't complain. Altia took the sky with a soft chirp as Zubats darted in the darkness. She faintly saw Altia stop and coo at one as she pulled herself onto Silas back. The three silently trotted off into the woods as Lexi dug her hands into Silas's warm mane. When they made it far enough way from the small town, Silas broke into a sprint with Riley right beside them and Altia flying high above the treetops. Lexi kept her eyes closed and focused on rocking with Silas's gallops so to not cause herself too much pain. Silas seemed to notice as he began to make his strides smoother.

The sun was just beginning to peak over the horizon as they neared a town. Silas slowed his gallop as the crossed a bridge as and grass gave way to stone walkways. Even this early in the morning there were already people walking the streets and talking in the pale lights of street lights and store windows. Most stopped and stared at the stranger riding in on the back of a rare Pyroar with a Lucario and Pidgyotto at her side. Lexi tried to ignore them, but she could feel their stares drill into her back. Silas stopped and shook his head as she looked around.

"This is it," she said lifting her body to see better, "It's a nice little town." Silas roared softly as he looked back to her and tossed his head to the right. Lexi followed the direction and saw a Pokecenter and a pokemart. She smiled.

"Go for it, bud," she said and Silas began trotting towards the two buildings. The three stopped at the pokecenter and shoved their way through the door with Lexi close behind. The poor storeclerk looked scared to death as the three shoved their way in and began walking through the aisles.

"Sorry about them," Lexi apologized to the clerk, "They get kind of...excited when they see a pokemart."

"It's no problem," the teen clerk squeaked out before clearing his throat when he saw Lexi, "It's no problem I just wasn't expecting anyone this early." The boy watched her with awe as Silas trotted up to her with a toy in his mouth. Lexi shook her head and chuckled as Riley walked over with a hand full of stone and as Altia flew over with a plastic bag full of berries.

"I don't have the money for all this you know,"she said as Silas dropped the toy at her feet and sat down. Altia twisted her head and Riley whined, "Maybe next time."

"I can cover for it," the clerk said, his voice sounding a lot deeper than last time. Lexi turned and saw the boy already ringing up all the items. Silas and the others trotted passed her and dropped the items on the counter as she sighed.

"Thank you, but I don't know if I can pay you back," she said as she walked up to the counter. The clerk kept his head down as he rang up the items.

"Then...um…don't worry about it," he said nervously and Lexi raised an eyebrow, "It's just something nice for a pretty lady..." Silas flicked her with his tail and the three of them looked back at her in amusement as Lexi turned beet red. She coughed nervously, thanked the boy, and the three of them walked out with their purchases tucked away in her bag. Silas rumbled deeply sound almost like a laugh as Lexi smacked his shoulder.

"You are never getting anything else from a pokemart," she said pointing a finger at him. He simply licked her finger and looked at her with watery eyes. Lexi groaned, "You three will be the death of me." As she climbed back on Silas, Riley barked and all three of them looked off towards a large building near the edge of town. Lexi looked and saw a shadowed figure dash out the door and out of the town as a frenzied scientist ran after him.

"Stop!" he cried, "Please!" but the scientist stopped before the end of town and looked helplessly on. Lexi spurred Silas and the three dashed to the man.

"You've got to help me!' the man cried as Silas skid to a stop, "He...he stole something very important to me!" Silas roared as Altia took to the sky once more. She looked off towards the direction the thief went and saw faint movement in the trees. She was about to lead Silas, but Altia beat her to it with a sharp whistle. Silas whipped his head and dashed off with Riley close behind. Lexi kept her body low as Silas ran at top speed, leaping over patches of grass and rocks with ease and nimbly dodging trees. Riley had stopped running along side them and had manage to climb a tree and was hopping from tree to branch with incredible ease and grace.

Altia cried again and Silas slide to a stop and Riley landed beside him. An old man stood at the opening of a cave nearly in tears. He gasped as Silas slid out of the woods. Lexi swung off and ran to the old man.

"Oh, please help!" he said looking back into the cave, "Some ruffiant stole my Peeko! Oh she's never been in battle before she doesn't know what to do!" Lexi looked towards the cave as Silas stood at the entrance, his mane casting light into the pitch black cave.

"I'll find her," she reassured the man as Silas looked back at her and grunted softly. Riley stood beside him and Altia landed with a soft thud just a ways off. She jogged up to Silas, "Altia, stay out here." Altia cooed as the three of them walked into the cave.

Lexi kept a hand on Silas's back as they maneuvered through the dark twisting paths. They would stop every so often as Silas would sniff the air and growled softly to which Riley would reply. Suddenly, a light would cut through the dark and disappear before reappearing again. A flashlight.

"Stay back!" a male voice cried which was echoed by a sharp call of a bird. Silas growled loudly as the cave lit up with a red light from a flare. Backed into the corner of the cave was a young man dressed in blue clothes and a blue white bird was desperately, trying to break free of the net that had entangled it.

"Something tells me that she isn't yours." Lexi shot as she crossed her arms.

"She ain't yours either!" the person shot back as Silas stepped up beside her as well as Riley, "This ain't your fight girly!"

"It is now," she said calmly. The person growled and tossed out a pokeball. A small Poochena leaped out and snarled. Beside her, Riley snorted. The person looked on smugly as if the Poochena was the strongest thing in the world.

"Silas, Roar," she said shortly and he obeyed. He stepped forward and roared loud enough to shake the floor. Both the person and their Poochena nearly dropped in shock and the Poochena dashed behind its trainer whimpering and crying. Its trainer threw their hands up.

"Forget it!" the man cried and marched towards her, "This pokemon is a terrible hostage, almost as bad as my own! Here!" he tossed a sack at her feet and Silas bared his teeth at the man. One snap of his jaws and the man and his Poochena went running out the cave. Lexi jogged over and began untangling the bird pokemon from the net.

"Peeko!" a voice echoed in the cave as she carefully untwisted the bird and it dashed towards the voice with a delighted cry. The bird leaped into the old mans arms and he hugged it tightly, "Thank you miss! If there is anything you need, anything at all, I'll help! I live just off Route 7. Thank you so much!" The pair walked off happily as Silas and Riley walked up to her with the sack tucked tightly in Silas's jaws. He shook it triumphantly and metal clicked together inside.

"I'm guessing this was what that guy stole," she said as she took the sack from Silas's jaws and tied it up, "Come on, lets go return it." Silas rumbled as Lexi climbed onto his back and they made their way back to Rustboro.

"Oh thank you!" the scientist cried as he ran and hugged Silas tightly around the neck. Lexi handed him the sack and she swore that she saw tears in his eyes, "You don't know how much this means to me!"

"It was no problem," she said with an awkward smile. Silas tossed his head to shake the man off.

"Please, come with me," the man said and he strode off back to the massive building by the sea. She glanced over at Riley who grunted and shook her head as they followed. She slid off Silas once they got to the massive glass doors. Silas rumbled questionably.

"I'll be fine," she said as she pulled out the poketoy and tossed it to Silas, "I think I'm supposed to be here anyway." Silas caught it easily and shook his head as Altia swooped down and bit down on the other end. Lexi shook her head and walked inside.

The floor of the lobby was made of glass and different rocks and sand made a symbol underneath it. The room was empty besides the receptionist and a teal haired man that sat with his legs crossed, looking impatent.

"You can go on to the top floor dear," the lady at the front desk said to her, "Wallace, he's probably still asleep..." The man, Wallce, sighed loudly and stood up.

"Of course he is," he said and crossed over to the stairs, "He never sets his alarm..."

"Who are you waiting for?" Lexi asked as the two of them started climbing the stairs.

"A piece of trash I unfortunately call my friend," he said with a shake of his head and looked over at her, "But I digress, who are you?"

"Oh, I helped someone and now they told me to follow them," she said as they climbed the last step and stood outside another large door, "And I guess this is where I'm supposed to go..." Suddenly, the scientist stuck his head out from behind the door and gestured for her to come in. Wallace held the door as they walked in.

"Welcome welcome," a silver haired man greet as he stood from his seat, "You must be miss Lexi,"

"That would be me," she said with a smile and a nod of her head, "I was actually on my way here anyway and all that happened and yeah..." the older man chuckled.

"Things do tend to happen that way," he said, "Is there anything we can help you with?"

"I was actually look for someone," she said, "A man named Steven?"

"Join the club," Wallace chimed in, "I've been waiting on him for almost 30 minutes, but he still hasn't woken up."

"He's always been a heavy sleeper..." The older man said with another chuckle, "Go wake him up, he's slept in too long anyway,"

"I can do that," Wallace said and gently pat her on the shoulder, "Come on," Lxi looked back at the older man as Wallace practically drug her out the room and down another hallway. They both sprinted as Wallace pulled out a pokeball and a pink heart shaped pokemon landed in his arms as they stopped in front of a doorway.

"He probably locked his door," Wallace muttered as he tried the door with his free hand, "Yep, here can you hold Elizabeth for a second?"

"Uh sure?" Lexi said as she was handed the pokemon. The pink pokemon looked up at her and chirped a greeting and Lexi smiled back.

"Got it," he said as the door creaked open. Wallace took back his pokemon and silently walked into the room. Lexi reluctantly followed. The wall to the right of her was a massive display of different stones and gems and there was a coat rack with a white and blue cape hanging from it. Near the window was a bed and something stirred from under the sheets. She caught a glimpse of silver hair in the rising sun and finally understood where this was going. She stayed back and covered her mouth as Wallace crept towards the bed and whispered something to the pokemon in his arms. Suddenly, a huge jet of water shot from its mouth, pushing the mass of sheets off the bed and into the floor. Lexi snorted as the mound flailed before Steven sat up; soaking wet and bare chested. Wallace snorted as Lexi ran out of the room. Steven glared at Wallace as he stood and sputtered out water.

"A hello would have done the same job," he said calmly as he stook his head, "and wouldn't have made as big of a mess."

"But it wouldn't be nearly as rewarding," Wallace said as he returned his pokemon to its ball, "Maybe if you woke up on time then I wouldn't have to wake you up myself." Steven threw a sopping wet pillow at him as Wallace laughed. A snicker from the hallway made Steven shake his head as he started changing out of his wet sweatpants.

"Who else is in on it?" he asked as Lexi leaned against the doorway before hiding her face as Steven changed his pants.

"Just Lexi," Wallace said with a smirk and Steven whipped his head up at him with wide eyes and tucked behind the wall as Lexi began laughing again.

"Wallace!" he said harshly glaring at the other man. Stevens face turned beet red as Lexi chimed in.

"Hey, at least we're even now!" she called and Steven turned an even deeper shade of red as Wallace's jaw dropped. Lexi laughed as she dashed down the hallway. Steven groaned as he pulled on a white shirt, but Wallace was still somewhat in shock.

"Wha..." he started, "But I thought..." Steven threw his wet pants and the man as he finished getting dressed. He crossed into his bathroom and dried off his hair with a towel as Wallace finally calmed down.

"This is the same girl you told me about right?" he asked and Steven nodded, "The one that was shot less than two weeks ago?"

"The one and only," Steven said.

"You didn't tell me she was cute..." Wallace said playfully and Steven looked over at him.

"Oh don't start with that," he said, "I know you don't fly that way,"

"No, but you do," he said and Steven threw another towel at him, "What?"

"Do not start with that either," he said, "And please don't make it uncomfortable for her. She's been through a lot these past few days."

"Then a day out sounds like what she needs," Wallace said as Steven finished drying off his hair and the two walked out and shut the door behind them. They walked the rest of the way in silence until they walked out the front door of the lobby and found her stroking Silas's mane. Steven wasn't as Shocked as Wallace was, after all, he had seen Silas before while Wallace had yet to meet the Pyroar. Silas snorted a greeting to Steven and looked past him towards Wallace.

"You know it's rude to just stare," she said looking over at him with a smirk, "At least say hi." Riley leaned over from behind Silas as Altia landed with a mouth full of berries. Wallace stepped forward and placed a hand on his mane; Silas tossed his head and Wallace nearly fell backwards.

"Be nice," she scolded the Pyroar and he blew air at her.

"How are you feeling?" Steven asked and Lexi sighed deeply.

"Better?" she said, "I mean, I don't really feel upset or mad, but...I'm not exactly happy or anything..." She held up her wrist to Steven as the rainbow gem sparkled brightly in the rising sun, "I actually came to ask if you knew what this was." He carefully twisted the bracelet on her wrist, unaware that began Lexi blushing slightly. Wallace slowly stroked Silas's mane with a slight grin on his face.

"Where did you get this?" he asked looking up at her as she pulled her wrist down.

"It was my mothers," she said calmly, "Riley found some things of hers and this was one of them." Steven sighed.

"It's a megastone," Steven said and Lexi fidgeted with the bracelet, "It's used by a select few trainers so their pokemon can achieve something called Mega evolution." Lexi nodded and her gaze went straight up to his megastone stickpin. They just looked at each other for what felt like minutes; Steven observing the way her eyes sparkled in the rising sun and once again demanded his attention and Lexi watching the sparkle of his stickpin before dropping her gaze shyly. Silas butted in and rumbled and she climbed onto his back with ease.

"You busy today?" Steven asked as Lexi looked down at him. Suddenly, her eyes seemed to be even more powerful from atop Silas; he almost couldn't breath under her gaze.

"Not really," she said shifting her body, "After the case was thrown out I've had less and less people in my face which is good, but it kept me busy. I could help the Professor with some research, but…" She tailed off, lost in a painful train of thought.

"Do you want to come with us?" Steve asked snapping her out of her thought, "We're heading to Slateport for the day if you want to come with us," Silas turned to her and roared softly and she smiled sadly at him and scratched him behind the ear.

"Yeah," she said finally as she slid off Silas and smiled at Steven, "Yeah, I'd like that," Her smiled made him grin and a warm feeling spread from his chest. Wallace watched the interaction with a goofy grin on his face as Riley snorted beside him. He looked down at the Lucario and then nodded towards the two of them; Riley nodded her head in unspoken agreement.

"Well, now that that's settled," Wallace said and the two looked over towards him as he pulled out another pokeball and released a massive creature with wings made of leaves. The creature grunted and looked around as he spotted Wallace and knelt his head down to his trainer. Silas bared his teeth and growled low before Riley cut him off with a sharp snort. Silas looked over at the Lucario and she nodded her head towards Steven and Lexi. Silas looked over and back at Riley and sat down quietly. Wallace was the first atop the pokemon then Steven as he helped pull Lexi onto its back. Silas roared softly for her attention and she looked own at the three. She opened her bag, pulled out the three pokeballs, and returned the three as the pokemon took off towards the sky with a strong down push of its wings.

Lexi gasped and latched onto Steven's waist in surprise, which didn't help the warm feeling in his chest from going away. Steven was used to flying, so he didn't need to really hold onto Wallace but it was clear that she had hardly ever flown before. He could hear her chuckle nervously as they climbed higher and higher into the sky and rested her head against his back. Wallace would glance back at him with a smirk to which he would punch the other man in the shoulder.

They landed on the beach within 10 minutes and Lexi slid off as soon as the touched down; Wallace second and Steven last. Lexi looked on at the city before she felt something tug on her shirt. She turned and saw the creature that brought them here tower over her with its head at eye level with her. The creature pushed its head against her and she scratched it under its chin. It grunted loudly and pulled on her shirt once more, ripping it slightly but she didn't care.

"Thank you for the ride," she said to the creature which replied with a strong flap of it wings before it faded away into its pokeball. She looked over and found Steven and Wallace watching her and she smiled.

"You ready?" Wallace asked and Lexi jogged up to the them as they walked up the steps into the city.

This city was much bigger and busier than Rustboro. People walked past them; some with bags and others with breakfast in their hands. The sides of the roads had different vendors selling things from jewelry to dolls from snacks to instruments. The city still smelled wonderful just as the day she first arrived, but now she could actually see what the town had to offer.

They spent the better half of the morning following Lexi around as she ran from vendor to vendor looking at everything. Steven just watched her in slight amazement at the sudden change in her behavior. She went from shy and quiet to loud and bright in a matter of days. It was if a weight was pulled off her body…

"I can see why you like her," Wallace said with a jab of his elbow, "She is an extraordinary person."

"I don't like her," Steven shot back as Lexi stopped at another jewelry stand, "But I'm glad to see her like this." The vendor owner, an old man, greeted her as she looked at the hand made necklaces.

"What happened to her?" Wallace asked seriously and Steven sighed.

"Her father shot her," he said and Wallace went stiff, "She watched her father drown in sand and found her mother dead in her home."

"Oh my god..." Wallace said, "That's why..."

"That's why I stayed in Dewford longer than originally planned," he finished for him as Lexi picked up a necklace with a piece of rose quarts wrapped in golden wire, "She was too hurt to move her to the main land so we had to preform emergency surgery in the pokecenter. We honestly thought she wouldn't make it..."

"Good God..." Wallace muttered as Steven nodded.

"She's been in Hoenn less than a month too," Steven added, "The only people she knows and somewhat trusts are me and Professor Birch and his family and her team." Lexi turned to him with a bright smile on his face and Steven returned it. She was much stronger than anyone knew. Suddenly, Wallace stepped up beside her.

"Like what you see, sir?" the older man asked and Wallace smiled at him.

"I love hand made stuff like this," Lexi said holding a Star Sapphire necklace up to him. The gem was wrapped in gold wire just like the rose quarts one. Steven stepped up beside her and admired the gemstone.

"Star Sapphire," he said as she handed him the necklace, "It's very rare in Hoenn." He turned the stone in his hand and the famous star followed his sight in the stone. "How much do you want for this?" he asked.

"100," the older man said, "a discount for you, ma'am." The old man nodded at her and she looked down shyly.

"Thank you, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to pass," she said as she sat the necklace back down on the table. Steven looked at her quizzically and Lexi shook her head at him and went on to the next stall. Wallace followed, but Steven looked back down at the table where the necklace was placed.

"Friend of yours?" the old man asked as Steven picked the necklace back up, "She seems very kind..."

"Here," Steven said as he fished out 500 from his pocket and handed it to the man, "Keep the change," the old man looked up at him with a grateful smile as Steven pocketed the necklace in his jacket and walked after Wallace and Lexi.

By mid afternoon, they had been to just about every vendor in town and had ended up back at the beach. They dropped into the snack shack on the beach and sat underneath an umbrella eating lunch. Lexi had pulled up her shirt and tied it off at her chest and took her shoes off. She dug her feet into the sand as she looked out at the sea. Steven had taken off his jacket and tied it at his waist and sat beside Lexi while Wallace slept in the shade of the umbrella.

"It's been a while since I've had this much fun," she sighed contently and took a sip of her drink, "I've been wanting to come here since we first landed," Steven glanced over and saw her gaze cloud over. He reached down a took a fry from her plate.

"Penny for your thoughts?" he asked, but her gaze didn't focus as she spoke.

"The future," she said, "and the past, I guess," She blinked and shook her head slightly, "It's nothing..." Steven looked at her then looked back out to sea. He wanted to ask her what was wrong and maybe find someway to help her, but he wasn't going to push her. She'd tell him when she was ready. So they sat in a comfortable silence eating fries and making comments about the flying Wingulls or the swimmers far off at sea, but it was quiet most of the time; at least until Wallace woke up.

"Anything else you wanna do?" he asked and Lexi fell back into the shadow of the umbrella with a content sigh.

"Other than soak in the sun," she said yawning and stretched her arms and legs out, "And maybe take a nap."

"I agree with that," Steven said holding back a yawn of his own. A Wingull cried as it landed just off to the side of the three of them. Lexi's head rolled to the side and looked at it as she grabbed and fry and tossed it toward the bird. Suddenly, another Wingull swooped down and took the fry from the Wingull on the ground. It took off after the other with a sharp cry and Lexi rolled her head back and closed her eyes. It wasn't long before the soft sound of the waves and the warm sun lulled her into a peaceful sleep.

Wallace laid back and slid through the news on his pokedex as Steven continued to look out at the sea. Wallace watched Lexi, until he was sure she was sleeping before he spoke.

"When are you going to go get that necklace for her?" Wallace asked not taking his eyes off the pokedex as he moved closer to Steven.

"Why do you think I'd get it for her?" Steven asked as heat crept up the back of his neck.

"You don't pull that "I know a lot of stones and gems" crap unless you are trying to impress someone," he said as he glanced over at him with a grin. Steven chuckled and fished the necklace out from his jacket pocket and held it out to Wallace.

"I figured you would," he said with a sly grin, "I didn't see it when we walked past the vendor again so I figured someone bought it."

"And you figured it'd be me?" Steven asked.

"Why else would you be late to catch up with us?" he asked back and a quiet chuckled as he closed his pokedex and tossed it back to his bag, "I'm also gonna guess that you haven't told her about you "job"?" he said air quoting job. Steven shook his head with a slight chuckle.

"Occupation shouldn't be a factor in friendship," Steven said, "And besides, what would it do to tell anyway?" Wallace shrugged and looked at the sea.

"I guess you're right," Wallace said, "I think as far as she knows your just some guys wondering around Hoenn." he said and Steven glared at him, "Or, you could just be honest with her and tell her the truth." Steven looked down at Lexi who had curled up slightly in the sand. A faint pink scar was beginning to form from the bullet wound on her side and he could see the other one peaking from under her sleeve. Wallace was right about being honest to her. If he was honest to her, then she's be honest with him, but that was a bridge he was afraid to cross.

He stood and brushed off the sand from his pants and put his jacket back on.

"Where are you going?" Wallace asked as he shielded his eyes from the falling sand. Steven looked out towards Mauville city.

"Wondering," he said looking down at his friend with a smirk. He said nothing more and walked back into Slateport, fading into the crowd. Wallace shook his head with a smirk and looked back out to sea, allowing himself to get lost in his thoughts.

He thought about the latest trainer that had fought him as a gym leader, most had lost, but a hand full made it past him; those that were smart enough to take advantage of his one type team set up. Those that did make it pasted him were usually taken down by the Elite Four except for one or two, but no one had beat the Champion. Still, Steven didn't take that for granted. He didn't become Champion by letting his team do what ever they wanted and even today he trained and pushed his team to become better and better. He also had a bond with his team unlike anything Wallace had seen before, at least until today.

Pokemon seemed to flock towards Lexi the moment they saw her. He saw that they would stare with curious glances until she noticed them and she would smile which seemed to make them ecstatic. Even with his Tropius, who was normally quiet and shy around new people, nudged and tried to get her attention as if it had known her since it was a baby. Steven even told him of how his own Skarmory comforted her after they had flown to Professor Birch's home and guarded over her while she attempted to sleep. He briefly thought of her team, the Pyroar, Lucario, and Pidgeotto that waited for her outside Devon Corporation. Pokemon that very far away from their native region or any region that one could keep them comfortable in. She was very strange indeed…

A noise pulled him from his thoughts. It was soft; almost too soft to notice. Lexi sat up beside him and pulled her knees to her chest; her eyes sparkled with tears.

"Have a good nap?" he asked looking over at her as she wiped her eyes with her thumb. She sniffled softly.

"Yeah," she said and cleared her throat, "the sun put me right to sleep and I didn't even realize it." she chuckled and pulled her legs into the shade.

"You're from Kalos, right?" Wallace asked and she nodded her head, "Which part?"

"Somewhere at the edge of the central region and mountain region," she said, "We were near Victory road I think,"

"I think I know where you're talking about," Wallace said, "Near route 22, right?"

"Yeah," she said as Wallace noticed that she was slowly tracing circles on her arms, "Near a small little town called Santalune City I think?" she said and looked over at Wallace, "You been to Kalos before?"

"Once or twice," Wallace said with a shrug, "Work required me to a few years back for a few months at a time."

"What do you do?" she asked digging her fingers into the sand and pulling them back up again. Wallace sighed quietly.

"I'm a Gym Leader," he said and Lexi looked over at him, "I'm the last Gym leader trainers need to fight before they can go on to challenge the Elite Four and Champion."

"Wow..." Lexi said quietly and looked back out to sea, "What...uh...type to you use?" she stuttered slightly. Wallace swallowed the slight lump growing in his throat.

"I'm a water type user," he said, "cause the only way into the city where my gym is is by water or air." he shrugged again, "but we already have a wind based Gym leader in Fortee City so they decided to make my gym the water type gym." She hmmed quietly.

"How do you decided what gyms to have?" she asked.

"Well," he said rubbing the back of his neck, "A request is usually sent to the region Champion to open a specific type gym in a city or town and they approve it or not, then the cleared request is sent to the "Battle Board" as they like to call themselves." Wallace chuckled slightly. The Board were a stuck up bunch that had given Steven a hard time for becoming the Hoenn champion at such a young age and he remembered Steven working day and night in order to convince the Board to agree on things that were actually pretty important to the regions gyms and its leaders.

"It doesn't seem like a normal gym leader should know all this..." she said arching an eyebrow at him, "How do you know all this stuff?"

"All gym leaders know this stuff," he said, "If something is wrong in their gym or they have a request then they need to go through the whole process. I've had to do it a few times myself." She silently nodded her head as she processed the information. Wallace tried to settle his nerves, thankful that she didn't ask who the current Champion was or how he never the actual inner workings of the process.

A screech cut the air and Wallace and Lexi whipped their heads around and saw people running towards the beach screaming and crying. Another screech, this one followed by the sound of something hitting metal. Wallace stood first followed by Lexi and the two ran towards the sounds. As the crowd thinned, they saw three red clothes people near the ship yard with three large pokemon snarling. As the got closer, the saw a massive beast, Steven's Metagross, standing firm by the doorway with Steven just behind it. One of the red clothes peoples pokemon snarled and leaped at the Metagross. Jaws bit down on the steel type before it managed to shake the attacker off and back to its trainer.

"Let us through," one of them said sounding emotionless, "We are here for Stern, not you." Beside Wallace, Lexi pulled out her Pokeball and glanced down at it to see who it was. He saw her grin slightly before she looked back up at the standoff.

"You'll have to get through me first," Steven said defiantly as his Metagross attacked. A strong shock wave pulsed out from the spike on its head toward the three other pokemon. They all dodged the attack easily and stalked towards them. Suddenly, Wallace threw out his own pokeball, releasing the Tropius. The pokemon shook the ground as it landed as Wallace and Lexi ran down to the battle field and took up a place beside Steven and his Metagross.

"It's still three against two!" a snide voice called out as Lexi released Silas to join the fight. The Pyroar roared as he landed beside the other two pokemon. A deep snarl escaped his lips as he crouched low to the ground, but Lexi stood straighter and looked on calmly despite the fact that she was nervous. Roar wouldn't work on these guys so they had to fight to drive them away. Suddenly, orders rang out from the opposing pokemons trainers as they leaped into action. Lexi focused on Silas as a doglike pokemon with curled horns snarled at him. Silas returned the act before the attacker suddenly breathed fire from its mouth. Lexi rolled out of the way and looked up expecting Silas to be badly burned, but found that the fire was swirling around him before fading into his skin.

"Silas, Bite!" Lexi cried and Silas launched forward and bite down on the attackers neck. The pokemon cried out and struggled to break free before a purple liquid began seeping through its skin. Silas let go and backed up to her as the purple liquid dripped from his mouth along with a black liquid.

"Hyper voice!" she shouted and Silas roared once more, but this time it was higher pitched and tossed his attacker back to the ground, "Dark pulse!" Waves of darkness were sent through his body as his attacker tried to flee, but was caught in the pulse. The pokemon fell to the ground and ceased to move as it faded back into it pokeball with its trainer. Silas roared in victory and Lexi looked over to see how well Wallace and Steven were doing. Just as she looked over, she heard a loud noise the nearly send her to the ground. She looked as Metagross was pushed back hard, hard enough that he hit Steven and sent him rolling across the ground.

"Steven!" Wallace cried as he saw it too, but was still fighting his own battle as Steven fell off the dock. Lexi broke into a sprint and Silas followed.

"Help Metagross!" she said and the Pyroar turned away back to the battle. Lexi slid to the edge of the dock and looked down into the sea. She could faintly see a dark blob under the surf and dove in after it. The saltwater stung her eyes, but she kept them open as she dove deeper and deeper after his sinking body. Her lungs ached as she reached out a grabbed his arm and tried to pull him pulled and tugged, but he was too heavy for her to lift by herself. She dug her nails into his arms, hoping that would wake him up and she saw him open his eyes wide in shock. She pointed up toward the surface which suddenly seemed much farther away than she remembered. She grabbed onto his hand and held on tight as they struggled to the surface. Her vision started to fade to black just as they broke the surface and they both gasped for air. She coughed and held onto the support of the dock and Steven held on beside her. Suddenly, she was lifted into the air by the collar of her shirt and was pulled back onto the dock. She laid there panting and gasping for air as she heard Steven being pulled out of the water and onto the ground beside her. Silas leaned over her and vigorously licked her face until she shoved him away.

"Silas, I'm fine," she calmed the Pyroar as she sat up and coughed again. Wallace stood in front of Steven and looked over as he helped Steven sit up. She sighed as she suddenly remembered that they were still in a battle before Wallace calmed her down.

"We sent them running," he said with a sly smile, "Or, at least, I did before you two decided to go for a swim." Silas grunted in agreement as he trotted to Steven and did the same. Lexi and Wallace both chuckled as Steven pushed the beast off and stood up.

"I think we underestimated Team Magma today," he said as he ran his fingers through his hair. Lexi stood and leaned against Silas as a dull pain began in the back on her head.

"Team Magma?" she asked placing her hand on the spot on the back of her head and thumbed it softly, "Who are they?"

"One of the gangs that has become a real pain on the island," Wallace said, "Pulling trainers into unwanted fight and battle, stealing…"

"And kidnapping now apparently," Steven said as he crossed his arms, "They were after Captain Stern, but I don't know why."

"The Devon parts maybe?" Wallace pondered, but Steven shook his head.

"Those aren't getting delivered until later this week..." he replied. He looked back to the battle field and saw the stone scratched with claw marks and stained with blood, "Whatever the reason, I'm glad you two got here when you did."

"I've already had to deal with one of them today anyway," she said dropping her hand down from her head, "I think so anyway. This guy in blue clothes stole something from a scientist and fled into some cave outside town." She shrugged. Steven scratched something on his arm, but his hand came up red and slick with blood. Lexi looked down at his arm and saw three small gashes on his arm from where she dug her nails into him when they were underwater.

"I don't even want to know how," Wallace said with a wave of his hand. Steven looked up at Lexi as he placed his hand around the small gashes and Lexi grimaced.

 _Sorry_ she mouthed and dug in her bag for something that could be used to wrap the cuts, or at least help clean up the blood. They both followed Wallace as she felt her heart sink. She pulled out a pocketknife just like the one from last night… She flipped up the blade at cut a good strip of her shirt off and started wrapping it around the gashes.

"Should you really keep ruining that shirt?" he asked as he watched her carefully wrap the red strip of cloth across his arm and cinch it tight. He hissed in pain and she pulled out some of the edges to make sure the wound was covered, "And you also didn't need to go in after me, you know." Lexi shrugged as she looked up at him. She felt a slight blush creep up her neck and Silas butted in and bit down on the knife still in her hand. He looked up at her and whined.

"It's ok," she said and finally let go of the knife as Silas took it in his jaws. A part of her heart ached quietly as she turned and followed where Wallace had went. Steven made to follow her, but Silas stepped in front of him with a grunt. Steven arched an eyebrow as Silas nudged him with his hand and dropped the knife at his feet.

"What?" he asked as he bent down and picked up the pocketknife. The handle was made of a red wood that Steven had never seen before, and he thought the carvings in the wood were claw marks for a split second. Silas nudged his hand and pushed the knife towards Steven.

"You want me to keep this?" he asked and Silas barked quietly and flared his nose. Steven pocketed the knife in the same pocket as the necklace and followed the Pyroar to Wallace and Lexi.

"...to stop the bleeding," he heard Wallace say as he found them standing of in a patch of grass, "And you own a shiny Pyroar."

"I don't own him," she said crossing her arms and Silas trotted over, "I happen to like torn up cloths thank you very much."

"Are we talking about the clothing situation?" Steven asked and Lexi slapped him on the shoulder.

"Even Steven agrees." Wallace said throwing his hands in the air and Silas rumbled. She sqinted at the Pyroar who snorted at her in response.

"Alright alright," she said finally giving in, "Take me to get "Better fitting clothes" then." She grinned as Wallace took her hand and pulled her away. Silas and Steven bound after.

"Where are you taking me exactly?" she asked as the four of them ran into the heart of town. She looked back at Steven and he grinned mischievously. He had be dragged to this store many many times and was just as confused the first time Wallace drug him there. Silas galloped beside them and bounced back and forth as they ran. Steven would have thought that Silas was nothing more than a pet, had he not seen him battle.

They stopped in front of a small shop tucked away in an alley way. Wallace pushed open the doors and walked in, but Lexi was more hesitant.

"Are we sure this is safe?" she asked as she huffed and observed the outside decor and glanced back to the main street, "This seems a little bit..."

"Sketchy?" Steven finished for her and she snorted and shook her head. Silas rumbled and put his head under her arm. She leaned heavily on the Pyroar and stroked his mane as Steven walked past her, "They're actually a pretty good place with some nice clothes, and Wallace liked it because it gives him a break from the media." He gave her a reassuring grin and held the door open as they walked inside with Silas close behind.

Soft music greeted her along with the soft scent of clean fabric. It was a warm light, not like the lights in the bigger stores, but it was just enough. The small room had a variety of clothes from casual to formal. She eyed Wallace talking to an old woman and he waved them over eagerly. The woman hugged Steven tightly.

"Its been too long, Opal," he said with a smile and the old woman laughed deeply. They let go and the woman was smiling at him.

"Wallace comes just about every other day," the woman said with an arched eyebrow, "What's your excuse?" Steven laughed nervously and clasped the back of his neck. The woman smiled warmly and looked at Lexi.

"And you must be Lexi?" she asked kindly and Lexi smiled nervously, "My my, Wallace was right."

"Do I even want to know what he managed to say about me before I walked in?" she said jokingly and the woman laughed once more.

"Come with me, dear," she said and the two went off to the back. Wallace and Steven settled down in the two idle chairs knowing that this would take awhile.

"Wallace was telling me that you're new to Hoenn?" the woman said as she pulled the curtain closed and hung some picked out pieces of clothes. Lexi took one and held to herself and looked in the mirror.

"I'm from Kalos," she said eyeing the shirt, "I've been here less than a month or so."

"Well you won't fine a better pair to show you around than those two," she said as Lexi took another shirt, "Two of the kindest boys I've ever met."

"They are interesting," she mused and took off her top to try on the new shirt. She expected the woman to gasp and ask her why she had stitches, but she stayed quiet and watched as she pulled the top on.

"How is that one, dear?" she asked as Lexi looked in the mirror. The top was a deep red tank top. She frowned slightly.

"It's a little too heavy for me," she said as she slid the shirt off and placed it back on the hanger. Meanwhile, Steven and Wallace sat outside as Steven scrolled through the messages on his Pokedex. Seven from his dad and three from the league. He sighed and ran his hand through his hair.

"Work again?" Wallace chimed in and Steven nodded his head and placed the Pokedex on the side table, "What do they want this time?"

"It's dad and the League," he said with a sigh, "Dad's probably talking about the company and the League is probably updating me on Team Magma and Aqua."

"Then I probably have the same messages," Wallace said as he pulled out his own Pokedex, "Maybe not the ones from you dad, but..." Steven sighed again and closed his eyes. He could deal with the League just fine, it was why he was the Champion after all, but his father was pressuring him more and more about taking over the company and leaving his trainer life behind. He had told his father that he couldn't do anything until someone took his title, but as time dragged on it was becoming more and more likely that he would hold the title for many years to come.

Something laid on his knee and when he opened his eyes to find the Pyroar looking up at him. Silas snorted and stared him down. His gaze was almost as commanding as Lexi's...almost. He reached down and scratched him behind the ear; Silas rumbled and closed his eyes. His ears perked up and towards the back room as he heard muffled laugher. Steven smiled faintly as he heard footsteps walk towards the large mirror.

"I like that better than the rags you had on before," Wallace said with a smile. Steven looked up and saw Lexi standing by the mirror. She wore a thin gray tank top with ripped jeans. Her hair was pulled up into a high ponytail.

"You think so?" she asked and looked at herself in the mirror. Silas grunted and padded over towards her. Standing beside Silas, it seemed like the outfit had come together perfectly on her.

"Will this be all for today?" Opal asked looking towards Wallace and Steven. Wallace shrugged.

"It's up to her," he said gesturing towards Lexi who was leaning against Silas with a hand on her chin. She caught Stevens eye in the mirror before quickly looking away.

"I don't want to keep you up," she said turning back around to face Opal. The old woman smiled.

"Good customers are hard to come by now a days," she said, "Especially those that can make an old woman like me laugh." She chuckled and Lexi smiled brightly. Wallace handed the lady a wad of cash and insisted that she keep the change as they walked out the store. A cool air wafted in as they stepped outside and Lexi shivered and looked towards the darkening sky.

"How long were we in there?" she asked as she rubbed her bare arms and stifled a yawn. Silas snorted and stretched out his paws as Wallace took out his pokedex.

"Wow," he said, "time really does fly now a days." he pocketed the pokedex as the started back to the beach. "it was a little after noon when we went in and its 8:37 right now," She yawned again and Silas stepped in front of her. She easily climbed onto his back and leaned against his warm mane and lazily watched the two walking beside her.

"I would offer a ride," she said as her eyes glanced to the nightlife of the inner city fade away to just a few guards and travelers, "but I don't know if Silas can hold that much weight..." Silas whipped his tail up and hit her on the leg. She buried her face in his mane and playfully kicked him against his side. Suddenly, his shifted down as he stepped down onto the sand with Steven and Wallace and rumbled deeply. She sat up as he sat down and she went tumbling off his back. Silas laughed as she brushed the sand off herself and as Steven helped her up as Wallace released his Tropius.

"He's being a bit of a smartass tonight, isn't he?" Steven asked as she fished his pokeball from her bag and returned him.

"He does that when he isn't getting the attention he wants," she said and thanked Steven. Tropius cooed softly and knelt his head down to her and she gently placed a hand on its snout. Tropius rumbled and nudged her towards it back where Steven and Wallace were waiting. Steven climbed on first and Wallace helped her on behind him as he rode in the back. She was more prepared this time as Tropius took to the sky with a massive leap, kicking up and tossing sand up with them. She wrapped her arms around Steven and laid her head on his back more more and watched as they rose higher and higher into the sky. She saw a glow from the top of the mountain and a sandstorm kick up in the dessert on the other side. The lights from the different cities across the islands twinkled faintly. She closed her eyes and ltened to the rushing wind, then focused on the fainter rhythmic sound against her ear. This one made her feel safe and even more sleepy than she already was. If she didn't know, she would have thought that she was hugging onto Silas mane rather than wrapped around Steven.

It reminded her of riding Silas. The rhythmic beating was just like the Pyroars gallops through the forest, and despite the cool air she felt a warmth holding onto him just like Silas's mane. She drifted off listening to the beating of Steven's heartbeat.

Steven landed Tropius as softly as possible so to not wake up the townsfolk who had turned in for the night. Tropius cooed and twisted back as Steven tried to move, but Lexi had fallen asleep while still holding onto him. Wallace chuckled quietly as he slide down and walked to his side. He held onto her as Steven slid off and pulled out Silas's pokeball from her bag. The pyroar snorted as he appeared and glanced up at Lexi and roared softly.

"It might be best to let her stay with you for the night," Wallace said as Silas jumped onto Tropius back and positioned himself under her and let her fall onto his back. She gripped tightly to his mane and frowned slightly as he carefully made his way back to the ground.

"Yeah, I think you're right," he said as Silas padded over to them and adjusted her on his back. She moaned in response as he snorted up at Steven, "Does that sound like a good idea to you?" he asked the Pyroar who gently tossed his head in response. Steven bid Wallace a goodnight as they walked into Devon Corporation and Wallace took to the sky.

The receptionist raised an eyebrow as the two of them walked in, but Steven waved her off. He walked behind Silas as they climbed the stairs towards Steven's room, but a quiet voice spoke as they walked by his fathers door.

"Steven?" his father voice said softly as they topped the stairs. Steven looked and saw his father sitting by his small library. Steven stood a little straighter as he pushed the door open and walked in, but he wasn't aware that Silas wanted to follow him.

"Hey, dad," he greeted his father as he walked in. His father looked up at him and smiled.

"I guess Wallace found you okay this morning?" he said as he went back to his book, "And that girl...Lexi was her name?"

"Yes they found me fine," he answered and his father nodded slightly, "And he woke me up in the usual way."

"Yes I did hear laughter this morning coming from down near your room," he said with a chuckle, "Have you seen my messages I sent you?"

"No, not yet," Steven said and hid his hands behind his back, "Wallace had us running everywhere around Slateport today."

"Yes, I heard about the group from Team Magma that was sighted near there today," he said and glanced up at his son, "I'm assuming you dealt with them?"

"As always," Steven said with a grin which his father echoed. His father gaze went from him to just behind him.

"Well that's not something that walks into my office everyday…" he said as Steven turned around. Silas stood by the doorway as Lexi sat up with a yawn. Her hair was tangled and her clothes were messy. Her eyes lazily looked between the two of them. Silas stood still as stone as his father spoke.

"It looks like you found him," his father said as she urged Silas forward. She smiled slightly as Silas stopped beside Steven.

"And then he drug me all over Slateport," she said glancing over at him with a smirk. His father laughed and sipped from his glass of whiskey.

"And here I thought it was Wallace that did that," he said sighing and leaning back in his leather chair. Steven shook his head with a chuckle, "I hope they weren't too overbearing."

"No more than normal," she joked and then yawned once more.

"You're welcome to stay here for the night if you would like," his father said, "The Professors home is quiet far from here and it would be late when you arrive."

"If you don't mind," she said as she slid off Silas as he yawned loudly. He rumbled softly and butted his head against her shoulder.

"Of course not, my dear," he said, "Steven can show you were you can stay for the evening." He nodded towards Steven who nodded back. They said goodnight and the three of them went back out to the hall.

"I never did thank you for today," she said shyly as they walked down the hall, "It was… a real treat for me," Steven shrugged and tried to keep his eyes forward to the room that he knew would be empty.

"I actually enjoyed it myself," he said, "And was always curious about how you hold yourself in battle."

"You know that was my first battle right?" she asked and Steven stopped midstep and looked at her in disbelief.

"That was your first time battling?" he asked and she nodded her head with a shy smile, "Imagine how could you could be with proper training."

"The only trainer I knew before today was Professor Birch," she said, "Now I can add Wallace to that list."

"Oh so he told you that he's a gym leader?" he asked and she nodded, "I've battle him before and he earns that title pretty well."

"You're a trainer?" she asked and Steven shrugged.

"I battle from time to time," he said, but it wasn't really a lie, "I don't think I'm very good at it." Silas trotted up the door and perked his ears up at the door. Steven and Lexi slowed their walk to a stop as Silas tilted his head. He snorted and trotted back to Lexi and Steven and started pushing them back down the hall.

"What's gotten into you?" she asked and Silas barked softly at her. She frowned and tried to listen to see if she could hear what he heard. Her face turned a deep red when she heard quiet moans and the squeaking of bed springs. She covered her mouth to muffle her laughter as Steven looked at her. He walked down towards the door and Silas barked softly at him. She watched him unlock the door and look inside before closing it once more and briskly walking back towards them; his face was beet red. Silas snickered and Lexi about fell into the floor with laughter.

"You could have told me!" he whispered harshly as Lexi finally laughed out loud and jogged to catch up with him. He was trying to hold in laughter of his own as they walked back down the hall.

"And miss the look on your face right now?" she asked quietly as they stopped by his room, "It was almost as funny as this morning."

"Haha," he mocked as he unlocked the door and walked in. A fresh change of sheets was placed on the bed and the old wet ones were removed. They walked in and he took off his jacket and hung it beside his champion cape as she observed the display of gems and stones.

"You've done a lot of traveling," she observed as Steven took out a spare blanket and pillow from the closet and tossed them on the couch.

"Something I did when I was younger," he said as he stepped up beside her, "The rest of my collection is at my home in Mossdeep." She eyed each stone and gem carefully before turning back around to him.

"So what's the sleeping situation?" she asked looking around and Steven sighed. 

"You can have the bed," he said as he started towards the couch.

"It's your room," she said, "And its your bed so you should have it."

"And you're my guest," he said as he sat down on the couch with a grunt, "And I'm saying that you get the bed." Lexi chuckled and watched as Silas jumped onto the bed and shoved the covers off. Silas purred towards her as she shoved him off and he fell to the floor with a thud. Silas groaned and she kicked off her shoes and climbed into the bed. He rested his head on the side of the bed as she took off her shirt and pants and tossed them in the floor. She practically sunk into the bed and Silas climbed back onto the bed with her. He grunted and stretched out beside her and fell asleep. Lexi stayed up for a few minutes to calm her suddenly racing heart. Her eyes caught Steven's silhouette on the couch; bared chested and already asleep. She sighed and sunk deeper into the bed, breathing deeply. She could smell the cleanness of the sheets and, if she tried hard enough, the faintest scent of earth and grass. Her eyes slowly fell as she vividly felt Silas's gallop as they ran through the woods, or maybe it was just the memory of Steven's heartbeat that lulled her to sleep.

 **AN: Sooooooo I just started this chapter with the full intent of stopping and not making this long, but things happen and I kept feeling like there weren't any good stopping points that I could pick up on but hey! Long chapter update and these two are honestly starting to kill me.**

 **Remember to review, follow and favorite because you are all lovely human beings who deserve to find a 20 dollar bill in the parking lot :)**


	8. Give it time

Steven never actually fell asleep. He kind of fell into a weird half sleep, but it was better than what normally happened during the night…

He was roused by an all too familiar beeping from his pokedex. He silently grabbed the pokedex and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes as he read the message displayed in soft blue lettering.

 _Challenger approaching! Elite Four and Champion report to Ever Grande City!_

Steven sighed quietly and sat the pokedex back down on the coffee table. It must have been sometime after midnight judging by the way the shadows were being cast across the room. He sat up with a quiet yawn which was echoed by a low rumble. Steven looked and saw a glowing figure standing beside his bed. As his eyes adjested to the dark, he saw it was Silas and then he remembered that he had a guest sleeping peacefully in his bed; at least that's what he thought.

As he stood and got dressed, he could faintly hear grunts and whimpers from his bed and he knew it wasn't Silas. As he latched on his Champion cape, he crossed over towards his bed and found Lexi breathing sporadically and tossing slightly under the sheets. Silas rumbled quietly and nudged her hand with his head, but she flinched away sharply. Tears were wet on her face as Steven finally understood what was going on.

"It's just a nightmare," he said softly and the Pyroar looked up at him, "I'm not surprised she's having one actually..." she moaned quietly and then gasped sharply. She mumbled something, but he couldn't understand what she was saying. He sighed deeply as Silas trotted beside him and bit down on his cape and started pulling on it.

"I have to leave," he said and Silas tilted his head with the cape still in his jaws, "but I'll be back soon I promise." Silas sat down and snorted, as if he was doubting Stevens words.

"I don't intend to leave her on her own," he said as he tugged the cape out of his mouth, "Not until I know she's taken care of..." Something changed in the Pyroars eyes. They softened and Steven swore he saw them sparkle faintly. Silas snorted once more and dipped his head and cross back to the outside of the bed. Steven watched Silas for a moment as he laid his head on the bed before he silently left the room.

Silas trusted this man. He had an air about him that Silas was put off by at first. Even now he could tell that he was hiding something from Lexi, but he had a feeling that it wouldn't harm Lexi or the rest of his team. He wanted to protect her from any harm; she had been through too much…

But it was like she changed when she was around him and the teal haired man. She laughed more and was more relaxed than he'd ever seen her. She even risked her life for him during the battle by diving into the sea after him. He'd never seen her do something like that before…

"No…" she muttered as she continued to toss and twist in the bed, "Leave them be..." Silas perked his ears and sniffed the air. She smelled of fear; fear and tears. She gasped quietly as Silas tried to nudge himself under her arm to try and comfort her, but he was pushed away once more.

"Get away from him..." she mumble again a little louder, "Please stop..." Silas roared softly and looked around for something to try and lull her back into a peaceful sleep. He trotted around the room and sniffed once more. He was looking for something with a certain scent, something that smelled like Route 22…

He caught whiff of something and went searching. He sniffed under the couch and coffee table; in the bathroom and he found the source in an old wicker basket. He tipped it over and started pawing through the old piles of clothes until he found it. He dragged out a gray shirt and drug it back out to the main room. Lexi still whimpered in her sleep as Silas flipped it onto the bed beside her head. He nudged it towards her carefully and roared softly. Her eyes cracked open, but they were clouded and unfocused as the stared at the cloth right in front of her. She lazily grabbed it in own hand and tucked it under her chin. She buried her face in the shirt and Silas heard her breathing slow as she fell back into a peaceful sleep. Silas nudged himself back under her arm and was pleased when she didn't shove him away. He climbed back into the bed and curled up next to her and fell back asleep; at peace now that she was no longer crying.

A few hours later and Steven was finally done with all the paperwork of the fight. The challenger had been stopped by Glacia and had finally given up after three failed attempts at beating her. Steven was secretly thankful that the challenger never made it passed her, but was agitated at the same time, He had fallen asleep more than once as he watched the screen that showed the progression of the challenger among the Elite Four and wanted nothing more than to go home and go to sleep. After the challenger left in a huff, he retreated back to his office and write up a report and see what requests were placed on his desk while he was away.

"Bout time you got back," a gruff voice said as Steven signed off on the budget increase for Winnoa's gym. He glanced towards the doorway and saw Drake walking towards him with a bottle of scotch and two glasses in his hands. Metagross rumbled from his spot beside his desk as Steven placed a hand on his head.

"Isn't it a little too early to be drinking?" he asked as he leaned back in his chair. Drake shrugged as he sat in the chair in front of Steven's desk and place the drink on glasses on the desk.

"It always depends on the day is what I say," the older man said as he poured the brown liquid into the small glass, "And, from what I hear, you've had quite the week, my boy." Steven chuckled as he leaned forward and continued reading through the paper work.

"Wallace or the News?" he asked and the old sea captain chuckled deeply as he sipped on the scotch.

"A bit of both," he said placing the glass back down, "Gabby and Ty managed to record some of the battle at Slateport."

"Oh yeah?" Steven said, "They didn't catch the part where I got knocked into the water, did they?" he said with a slight grin. Drake shook his head and took another sip.

"No, I heard that from Wallace," he said and Steven shook his head. Leave it to Wallace to tell his team Steven's business, "But they did catch that girl and her Pyroar..."

"And?" Steven asked. Drake shrugged, "She's good isn't she?"

"The lass has a talent, I'll give her that," he said, "She could make it here one day if she tried."

"That was her first battle," Steven said with slight pride in his voice. Drake raised his eyebrows and swallowed his drink hard.

"Damn..." the old sailor swore, "If that's the case then she could easily beat you given enough time." Steven looked up at the dragon master with a raised eyebrow before giving in and pouring himself a glass.

"Don't get too hopeful," Steven said as he carefully sipped on the drink. It tasted like Oak and honey. This time it was Drakes turn to raise an eyebrow.

"She's the reason you were at Dewford, ain't she?" he asked and Steven shrugged, "She was the one that was shot?"

"She's healed quiet well actually," Steven said as Metagross grunted in agreement, "She stayed the night with me after Wallace made us get home later than usual. She normally stays with Professor Birch and his wife."

"How old is she?" Drake asked.

"Oh no," he said, "Don't you start that too." Drake raised his hands in confusion.

"Start what?" he asked and Steven narrowed his eyes at the older man, "Lad, the only reason I was asking was to see if she was even old enough to own property in Hoenn. Why did you think I was askin'?" Steven sighed and ran his finger through his hair. He watched as Drake connected the pieces, "Ah, I see."

"Wallace was bugging me about it all day yesterday," Steven said as he took another sip of his drink, "And I have no clue why." Drake grunted and finished off his drink and poured another one.

"Well," he began, "How do you feel about it?" Steven sighed and leaned back against his chair. He trusted Drake not to tell anyone, not even Wallace but he didn't know if he could trust him with something like this.

"I admire her strength," he said as he placed his hand back on Metagross's head, "It seemed like everything that happened to her never even happened yesterday, but she was having a nightmare when I left this morning."

"So you piety her?" Drake asked and Steven shook his head.

"I piety her in the fact that all that's happened happened to someone like her," Steven said as he remembered all she had told him hat first night, "No one deserves to go through something like that, especially someone like her." He trailed off for a moment. Drake watched him thoughtfully, picking apart the words in his mind. Steven would have helped anyone the way he was helping her, but he could not only hear it in his voice when he talked about her, but he saw it and even felt it. Drake knew that Steven had a lot of his plate from being the youngest Champion in not only the Hoenn region, but in several other regions and having the pressure from his father about taking over Devon. Normally, Drake would insisted that Steven put it out of his mind and focus on the here and now, but he had never seen the man like this before. It was almost...relieving.

"I say give it time," the older said and Steven blinked back into reality, "If time can heal wounds, then I say it can help solve problems as well." Steven nodded his head slightly and rubbed his face, "And give her a chance at being a trainer. You never know; she may surpass you one day so you can go back to Devon." Steven laughed and shook his head.

"That's a whole other problem that I want to forget," he said as he finished his drink and looked towards the clock over his library, "I promised her Pyroar that I'd be back and after watching him yesterday, I don't want to brake that promise."

"I agree," Drake said as Steven stood. As the younger returned his Metagross and began walking out, Drake called out, "Let me know how that goes for you." Steven didn't reply as he left the older in his office.

When Steven arrived back, the sky was still pitch black. The hallway echoed with his footsteps as he silently opened the door to his room. He was relieved to find Lexi sleeping peacefully with Silas's head resting on her side. They were both peacefully asleep as Steven settled back into the couch, but as his eyes adjusted to the dark, he saw the his once clean and neat room was now disheveled and messy. He eyed the Pyroar and saw Lexi clutching something tight under her chin. He looked closer and saw it was one of his casual shirts that he thought he'd lost ages ago. He raised an eyebrow at the sleeping Pyroar and shook his head. He briefly thought of trying to pry the shirt from her grip, but thought better of it as he sat back down on the couch and fell into another half sleep.

As the sun began to rise a few hours later, so did Lexi and Silas. She slowly opened her eyes and eyed Steven still sleeping on the couch. She grunted and shifted in the bed to which Silas groaned in protest. She smiled to herself and tucked herself into the Pyroars mane. As her body began to wake up, she began to notice slight aches and pains in different places of her body. Her abs were sore and her calves ached. She twisted her hips slightly to stretch the lower part of her abs, but Silas decided to sniff her ear.

His nose felt cold against her ear and as she tried to shove him away, he decide to see what it tasted like. Lexi couldn't help but laugh out loud as stuck his tongue in her ear. She retaliated by shoving his to the floor with a whine and thud.

"You two are loud every part of the day, aren't you?" Stevens sleepy voice said from the couch. Lexi looked over and saw his eyes still closed. Silas grunted and shook as Lexi tried to wipe off her ear.

"He's the reason for it," she said as she sat up and observed the gray shirt she had gripped in her hand. She frowned and held it out in the rising light, "And I do not remember falling asleep with this."

"Yeah," Steven said finally opening his eyes and looking at the shirt, "I don't know how you got that either." Lexi shrugged and decided to put it on as she swung her legs off the bed. The shirt was huge on her small frame, but it was super cool and super soft. As she stood, the hem of the shirt stopped mid thigh and she felt more aches and pains.

"You okay?" Steven asked as she looked out to the rising sun.

"I'm super sore," she said as she rubbed a sore spot on her arm, "Like I was fighting something in my sleep..." Silas snorted as he licked his paw and brushed it across his face.

"You were having a really bad nightmare last night," Steven said as Lexi stretched her arms high above her head and yawned, "You kept mumbling and you were crying."

"I was never a peaceful sleeper," she said as Silas trotted over to her and bumped her scared leg with his head, "I'm sorry if it woke you,"Steven waved it off as he sat up from the couch. Lexi quickly noticed that he had his jacket and shirt on and she could have sworn that she saw him take it off before she fell asleep,

"You hungry?" he asked as he stood and straighten his jacket and shirt.

"Starving," she said as her stomach rumbled loudly, loud enough that Silas heard it and snorted towards her, "What's for breakfast?"

"Whatever I can find in the kitchen," Steven said with a slight grin as he started walking towards the door, "But you might want to put on some pants before you come down." Lexi snorted and eyed her jeans laying discarded beside the bed. She slide them on and followed Steven and Silas out the door.

The kitchen was slighter bigger than a normal kitchen, but then again it was Devon corporation. Two farm house sinks, two ovens, and two stoves; not to mention the massive freezer fridge combo that was full of different foods.

"I still don't believe that you can cook," she said as she sat at the island, "at least, not anything edible anyway." Silas grunted and shook his head as Steven came back with a small tray full of eggs and cut meat.

"And why do you think that?" He asked as he searched the cabinets for the right sized pan.

"Cause you're a guy," she said as he pulled out an old skillet and flipped on the stove, "guys can't cook."

"Can you cook?" He asked as he glanced back at her. She was untangling her curled hair with her fingers, or at least trying to anyway.

"Small things I can," she said wincing as she practically ripped out a knot from her hair, "mostly sweets and cakes."

"And here I thought all woman were expert cooks," he said jokingly as he cracked open three eggs into the skillet, "fried or scrambled?"

"Fried," she said, "and no pepper."

"No pepper," Steven echoed back as he swirled the egg around in the pan and added a dash of salt, "you're more than welcome to take a shower. I imagine that saltwater doesn't sit well in long hair."

"A brush would be better," she said through clenched teeth, "any chance you know how to braid hair?"

"Maybe," he said with a shrug, "isn't it more a girl thing? Don't you know how to?"

"Kind of," she said shyly as Steven flipped the egg, "but I'm not very good at doing it on my own hair." Silas snorted beside Steven and sat. He looked up at the man with stern eyes as Lexi spoke, "I think he wants some too."

"And what about the other two?" Steven asked glancing down at the Pyroar. Silas barked and galloped back up the stairs and came down a few minutes later with her bag tight in his jaws. Lexi fished out the other two pokeballs as Steven played her eggs and started cooking the bacon. He glanced back to see Altia perched on the island and Riley watching him closely. He pat the bacon dry of grease and placed it with the eggs and sat it in front of Lexi who looked at in slight amazement.

"Impressed?" Steven asked in slight amusement as he started making his own breakfast.

"I'm more surprised it isn't burnt to a charr and hard as a rock," she said carefully tasting a spoonful, "not bad…"

"Not bad?" He asked, "well I guess it's better than horrible."

"Only by just," she said with a chuckle. Riley barked to get her attention and nodded towards Steven with a questionable look. Lexi nodded; telling the Lucario that he was fine and wouldn't hurt her, but the Lucario snorted in response.

 _"That's not what I mean,"_ she said glancing back over to Steven as he plated his eggs and bacon.

 _"He means to help her recover,"_ Silas growled from beside her as Steven ate opposite of Lexi on the island, _"He promises her no harm. He spoke so this morning."_

 _"Humans lie Silas,"_ Riley said as the Pyroar padded towards her, _"All three of us know this…"_

"What's the plan for today?" She asked with a mouth full of eggs. Steven tilted his head down to hide his grin at the act.

"Do you want to try and take on the Gym leader here in town?" He asked off handedly, "it's the first gym trainers battle for their first badge. It should be no trouble for you and your team."

"I don't know," she said looking down at her team as she took a bite of bacon, "I don't like being the center of attention all that much…"

 _Yet you are everywhere you go_ Steven thought and then felt heat rise in his cheeks at the sudden thought. Riley looked and narrowed her eyes at him before turning back to Silas.

"It's a small gym so not many people will be there, especially this early in the morning," he said in an attempt to convince her. She looked up at him and he was once again taken by her eyes. That brilliant green…

"I'll have to think about it," she said breaking the gaze down to her team, "what are you planning on doing today?"

"I'm heading back to Dewford," he said picking his words carefully, "I'm visiting the town gym leader to catch up on somethings."

"Why?" Lexi asked quizzically.

"The leader is an old friend of mine," he said, "I didn't exactly have time to catch up with him last time I was there."

"I think that sounds like a better plan," she said leaning against her elbows, "you don't mind if I tag along do you?"

"I could always use the company," he said with a grin and she smiled brightly causing a quiet ache in Steven chest, "we'll leave whenever you're ready." Silas growled softly and Steven looked and saw Riley staring him down once again. Silas nudged the Lucario as they followed Lexi back up to Steven's room.

Steven let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding looked down at his cooling breakfast.The feeling hurt, but it felt good at the same time. It was honestly the strangest thing he'd ever felt because it made him feel all warm and childlike inside. Part of him thought he should have hated it and forced himself to stop acting like a kid, but at the same time he enjoyed the feeling.

Lexi closed the door behind her after they had walked in before her. She placed her back against the door and bit her lip. Silas barked softly and sat in front of her and she scratched behind his ear.

 _"You'll make goodbye even more painful if you get attached,"_ a voice said in her head and she groaned, _"you're just imagining it. What could he see in you?"_ Her leg started to itch slightly and she clenched her teeth.

Steven cleaned the plates after he finished his breakfast, but his mind wasn't fully on the task.

 _"She'll move on from here,"_ his inner voice said, _"what reason does she have for staying in Hoenn?All she sees in you is your money and gifts."_ He sighed softly at the thought and gritted his teeth.

Silas snorted and licked her face as she thought out loud.

"But he's been so kind and helpful after all that's happened…" she said to the Pyroar who tilted his head in confusion at the comment.

 _"He only pity's you,"_ her inner voice hissed.

Steven carefully dried off the plates and placed them back in the cabinet as he spoke softly so no one could hear him.

"But she's so kind and genuine…" he tried to reason with the voice in his head.

 _"Only because she wants to squeeze more out of you,"_ it whispered back and Steven closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"I'll just give it time," they both said completely unaware that both were facing the same battle. Silas barked a reply to Lexi while cold silence answered Steven.

 **AN: So Steven and Lexi and starting to realize that their heart goes donky donk at certain times for each other. Stevens feelings are actually just a bit stronger because they've been building for a bit longer and he's just now starting to realize it while Lexi's started a bit later but she noticed it a lot faster than him. I also really like the idea of Riley knowing that he's lying about something and Silas having a vague feeling about it, but neither of them know what it's about, but Silas knows that whatever Steven is hiding won't hurt them because of what Steven told him that morning but hey! I think that ending part was pretty freakin CUTE.**

 **Remember to favorite and review and love yourself by using a sugar scrub in the shower cause you will be so smooth and you all deserve to feel smooth and nice (use the scented ones it's even better)**


	9. Back to Dewford

Lexi stood on the front of the boat. Her hair was down and was whipping back in the roaring wind as the boat sped across the sea. The warm sun only added to the experience as Altia dipped down beside the speeding ship. She rolled and twisted over the water as the captains Wingull joined her. Lexi smiled brightly as Altia climbed higher into the sky. She glanced over and saw Steven on the other side; his jacket whipping in the wind and his hair blown back. Lexi was unsure about taking a boat all the way back to Dewford thinking that the trip would take longer than simply flying there on Steven's Skarmory, but Steven insisted they take a boat. Lexi was glad she'd agreed with him. Both for the needed space and the feeling of the wind flying past her.

In truth, the last thing either of them wanted was having to fly together with one holding onto the other. Steven hoped that she didn't pick up on it, but Lexi noticed that when she came back from his room that he was shorter than before and he didn't everything possible to avoid her gaze. She was the same. After the mental talk in his room, she felt awkward and almost afraid to be around him. She felt so small when he looked at her, and Steven noticed.

Meanwhile, Silas flicked his tail in annoyance at the sudden change. The air between them turned thick and he couldn't stand it. He searched his memories to try and find what had happened, but the only thing that could hint to the change was the one sentence she said out loud.

 _"I don't like this,"_ he growled as Riley stepped up beside him, _"I don't know what could have changed in such a short time."_

 _"Maybe she finally saw that he was hiding something,"_ Riley shouted over the wind, _"maybe she just can't stand someone who hides things?"_

 _"That's not it,"_ Silas growled as he eyed the two, _"it's her fears. They have to be getting the better of her."_

 _"And what about him?"_ Riley asked as an island came into view, _"would he at least try to talk with her?"_

 _"Maybe he has fears too?"_ Silas rumbled as the boat gradually slowed as they neared the dock. Silas watched as she stole a glance towards Steven before turning and walking towards the two of them. She simply looked at the two of them as she grabbed her bag. Silas snorted and looked at Steven who was pulling the boat closer to the dock and securing it with a rope. Silas growled and leaped onto the dock with Riley in tow.

"Thank you for the ride," Lexi thanked the captain as she slung her bag over. The captain was the old man whose Wingull she had rescued in the cave. The man smiled brightly as the Wingull landed on the boat railing.

"Anytime, my dear," he said and the Wingull screeched, "me and Peeko'll be here when you're ready to return to the main land."

"Steven!!!" A shrill voice said and footsteps thundered towards the boat. Lexi looked up and saw a mass of kids running towards Steven and crash into him, nearly knocking him off the dock.

The group of children laughed as Steven knelt down and hugged one of them, a small blonde girl, tightly.

"You said you weren't going to be back soon!" The little girl cried as Steven lifted her into his hip. Steven smiled as the kids followed him off the dock and into the sand.

"I said that I might not be back for a while," he said with a bright grin, "I ended up being back sooner than I thought,"

"Who's that?" A small voice asked and a pair of hands tugged at his jacket. He looked down and saw Adrian, a brown haired boy pointing towards the dock where Lexi slowly walked down the steps with Silas and Riley at her side.

"She's a friend of mine," he said as all the kids looked towards her, "she wanted to come with me."

"What's her name?" The blonde haired girl sitting on his hip asked. Steven shrugged playfully.

"Why don't you go ask?" He whispered in the girls ear and she gasped quietly, "she's really nice, I promise." The girl looked towards Lexi who had stepped carefully into the sand before jumping out of Stevens grip and running up to her with a bright smile.

"Hi!!" She said waving excitedly, "my name is Annie! Who are you?" Silas sniffed the air and snorted as Lexi returned the smile.

"Nice to meet you Annie," she said kneeling down to her level, "my names Lexi." Soon, the rest of the group of kids had flocked towards her and swamped her with questions. The kids began petting and climbing all over Silas, with Lexi permission and the Pyroar was loving the attention. The hair pulling? Not so much.

"Can you watch us play Marco Polo?" Annie asked as she pulled on Lexi's arm, "we can't get into the water unless an adult is watchin' us!"

"I'd love to," Lexi replied and all the kids cheered as the ran into the water beside the dock. Annie dragged Lexi by the arm as she looked back at Steven who watched with a slight grin. Steven turned and walked into the gym as the kids started yelling Marco and Polo, happy that they had finally found someone to watch them play.

The gym guard greeted him with a nod and smile as he waved Steven on past the different traps and dimly lit rooms. Several people were in the gym working out and some stared as he walked passed them, but most focused on their workouts.

He found Brawnly in the back of the gym working out as usual. The dark skinned gym leader was bench pressing at least three hundred pounds when Steven walked in and the metal clanged back on the bar as he racked the weight and sat up.

"Well I haven't seen you in a good minute," he joked as he whipped his face with a rag and sucked down his drink, "what took you so long?"

"Decided to take the scenic route back here," Steven shrugged, "and I almost got shoved off the dock by a herd a children so there's that."

"I'm surprised you got them away," he said standing from the bench, "they adore you."

"I had some help," Steven shrugged and glanced out the window overlooking the sea, "anyway, what was this big news you called me for?"

"You know Granite Cave right?" Brawnly asked. Steven nodded, "well, we've been able to bust past an old section of wall and we found an entire room covered in cave art."

"No kidding?" Steven asked as he crossed his arms, "alright I'll bite. What's so special about this cave art?"

"That's what we were hoping you could find out for us," he said, "you know more about this stuff then probably anyone else in the region."

"I don't really have any of my gear with me," Steven said, "I wasn't expecting to go cave diving today."

"Just follow that starting path and take a right," he said, "you really can't miss it." Steven sighed at glanced at gym leader who had turned to look out the window. Steven knew that he was watching Lexi and the other kids, but he didn't feel like watching.

"Alright," he said with a defeated sigh and the gym leader clasped him on the shoulder hard. Steven winced and smiled at the stronger man.

"Thanks Steven," the other man said with a bright smile, "and please be careful down there. You've been having a string of small earthquakes so the ground might not be as stable as you'd like."

"Thanks Brawnly," he said as his sight drifted out the window, "I'll be sure and tell you what I make of it when I come back." He briefly saw Silas and Riley splashing and chasing other kids in the surf while Lexi sat with her feet dangling in the water with Altia perched beside her. Annie stood behind her and ran her fingers through her hair and looked like she was trying to braid it.

"You're hair is sooooo pretty!" Annie said as she tried to braid it once more, " but it's too thick and curly."

"I'm sorry," Lexi mumbled with half closed eyes. The combination of someone playing with her hair and bathing in the warming sun was one of the quickest ways to put her asleep, and she was falling fast, "I meant to brush through it before we left this morning, but I ran out of time."

"That's okay," Annie said sweetly as she sat down beside her, "can I ask a question?"

"Sure," Lexi answered reopening her eyes and watched as Silas and Riley chase after the other kids in the surf.

"What happened to your leg?" She asked sweetly and poked her upper thigh. Lexi stiffened slightly and glanced down where Annie's small fingers pointed at her largest and deepest scar.

"What do you mean?" She asked and placed her own hand on one of her other scars.

"Why does your leg have these lines on em?" She looked up at her and back down at the section on leg. Lexi took a quick breath.

"I was really bad sick," she said tracing a scar that ran from an inch above her knee to just below her hip, "and I thought that the only way to get better was hurting myself until I lost a lot of blood…"

"Did anyone help you?" She asked, "that's sounds really scary…"

"It was," Lexi answered with a quick nod, "and no…a lot of people don't know what's happened…"

"Does Steven?" Annie asked, "he's really helpful when I fall and scrap my knees. He always gives me a pink bandaid and buys me a sweet to feel better!"

"Does he really?" Lexi asked with a grin Annie nodded her head vigorously and her blonde her was tossed everywhere, "I don't think he'd give me a sweet and a bandaid."

"Maybe if you asked?" She suggested and Lexi couldn't help but grin, "Do you still feel sick?"

"I did this morning," she said looking down at the little girl, "really bad sick…"

"Oh…" she said and watched the waves lick her feet, "maybe Steven can help?"

"And give me a bandaid and sweet?" Annie nodded her head again.

"I think he really likes being around you," Annie said softly and kicked the water, "he seemed really worried when you were here a few weeks ago…" Annie looked up and behind her and her eyes lit up as she stood and ran down the dock with a sweet giggle.

"You need to give her a sweet and bandaid," she whispered in Stevens ear as he walked down the dock. Steven frowned and looked towards Lexi, "she said she felt sick this morning and she's got these lines on her leg…"

"Lines on her leg?" Steven asked and his stomach sank like a rock. His heart ached quietly as he looked up to her, "Why don't you go play with the others? Me and her have to go to the cave outside town."

"Can I come?!?" She asked excitedly and Steven shook his head. Annie stuck her lips out and watered her eyes, "please???"

"Brawnly asked me to check out something they found," he said, "and I only have one bandaid and sweet with me today so I can't give you one if you get hurt in there."

"Okay…" Annie said sadly, "can you make sure she gets one?"

"Pinky promise," he said hooking her tiny pinky in his. She smiled and ran off the dock and into the surf with the other kids. Steven reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out pocket knife that Silas made him keep in Slateport. Now he understood why Silas was so adamant about Steven taking the knife and keeping it away from her. She was using it on herself…

He pocketed the knife and strolled up to her. She was kicking the water as Steven settled down beside her; he glanced sideways and saw her hand covering a good portion of her left thigh.

"Do I get a bandaid and a sweet now?" She asked attempting to joke, but it fell flat. She sighed and went back to kicking the water.

"I'm not going to force you to tell me," Steven said quietly and Lexi looked at him, but he kept his eyes on the lapping waves, "that's not how you build trust and friendship, but I'm here if you need me."

"I know," she sighed and looked down at her scars. Her thigh had the most cuts, but she had done it on her arms too. It surprised her that Steven hadn't noticed sooner.

"Come on," Steven said as he stood back up and held his hand out to help her up, "Brawnly asked me to look at something while I was here." Lexi looked up and accepted his help as he easily pulled her up from the dock. Lexi smiled shyly and they locked eyes for the first time that morning, but this time neither was eager to shy away. They both started walking back down the dock; their hands still lingering, barely touching one another.

"So what does he want you to do?" Lexi asked as they stepped down the dock and into the sand, but her mind was distracted by the electric feeling in her fingers "cause if it's digging up stones and gems then I'm leaving."

"It's not that extreme unfortunately," Steven chuckled and stole a glance towards her, "he just wants to see if I can take a look at this room they busted open."

"Ah," she said glanced out to where Silas and Riley still played with the kids, "so I'm guessing that this'll be a short journey?"

"Probably," he said, "it'll take 10 minutes at most to get there."

"Fingers crossed," she muttered, "lead the way then."

For some reason, Steven figured that she'd have a hard time keeping up as they took the small, well worn trail to the cave entrance, but he actually ended up being the one lagging behind. It seemed that once she got lost in thought or saw something that caught her eye she sped up. She would catch herself doing it from time to time and would wait for him while pretending to observe a Caterpie crawling across a leaf or a Tailow hopping across a branch. It was another quirk of hers that only ended up dragging him deeper.

As they broke through the tree line and back onto sand, they saw a line of hikers and backpackers trailing out of the entrance. One of them locked eyes with Steven and began to reach for his Pokémon before his friend grabbed him on the shoulder and whispered harshly at him while glancing between him and Lexi. Steven made sure Metagross was still within reach if he needed to battle at a moments notice.

"Why are they all here?" Lexi asked as the line shifted to let the two of them in. Lexi squeezed in first and saw a man with a red flag sticking out of his backpack pointing to different piece of rock and gems, "some kind of tour group?"

"Probably," Steven grunt as he squeezed in beside her, "there aren't many caves this easy to get into and this close to a town in Hoenn."

"Shouldn't we have equipment or something?" She asked eyeing the group of hikers as they disappeared deeper into the cave, "at least a flashlight or something?" Steven grinned and fished out the small flashlight he kept tucked away in what other than his jacket pocket. He clicked it on and Zubats scattered from the light.

"It wouldn't surprise me if you had an entire medical kit stuffed there somewhere," she joked as they carefully made their way deeper in the cave.

"I'm normally better prepared for something like this in case something goes wrong, but this was a very last minute thing," Steven said as he shined the light around the growing cave, "but yes I normally keep a medical kit with me."

"You're such a dork," she grunted as she pulled herself up a sizable rock and reached down to help Steven up, "so how will we know when we find this room?"

"Brawnly said to follow the starting path and it'd be to our right," Steven said and he scanned the wall for any signs of new cracks or cuts, "but I'm not seeing anything…"

"Well that's always a good starting sign," Lexi mumbled and shivered slightly as the temperature dropped, "you feel that?"

"The breeze?" Steven asked as a gently wave of cold air slid pasted them, "yeah, but I though there was only one way in and out of the cave…"

"Maybe that's the room?" Lexi mused as she started following the direction of the cool air with her hands clasped around her bare arms, "no harm in trying."

The two altered their trail into the direction of the cool air and Steven faintly heard a soft clicking noise. He looked up expecting to see a small colony of Zubats tracking their movement through the cave, but only found a looming and empty ceiling.

"Sorry," Lexi apologized as she huffed, "I would have dressed warmer if I had known I'd be cave diving today." Without a second thought, Steven slid off his jacket and held it out to her. She didn't notice so he shook the jacket slightly; the metal cuffs clinked together. She turned at the noise and looked down at the jacket and then back to him.

"Oh I'm fine," she said, "I'll be fine."

"You'll be even better if you take it," Steven urged and shook the jacket again, "take it." She hesitated for a moment and bit her lips slightly. She carefully took the jacket and slid it over her arms.

"Good lord," she laughed as she tried to roll up the sleeves, "this thing is huge on me!" Huge was a bit of an overstatement, but it was still pretty big on her. The sleeves slid past her fingers and the jacket itself hardly touched her waist; but lord it was warm.

"Better?" Steven asked with a slight grin as she dug her hands in the oversized pockets.

"Much," she replied and they continued on their way. Without his jacket, Steven wore a simple long sleeve dress shirt that was even worse for cave diving than the jacket, but Lexi was in an old t-shirt and that defiantly wasn't good for the cold temperatures in the cave. He mostly gave her the jacket because she was cold, but he also didn't want her to cut her arms on the bare rocks; the last thing he wanted to see with her with more scars and cuts…

"I see light," she said as a soft light framed her face from where she stood. Steven pulled himself up and looked down and saw a small underground stream sparkle in the faint sunlight pouring in from a hole in the ceiling. Steven huffed to catch his breath as she slid down the rock face and her feet splashed into the shallow water, "this must be where that cold wind is coming from."

"No doubt," Steven replied as he slid down beside her. He watched as he saw dark shadows dart in the cold water and then reappear further up the stream, "and I don't think we're alone in here either…" As if to confirm it, a rock shifted and fell into the stream beside them and Steven swore he heard something chatter.

"Come on," he urged as he sloshed through the water and kept his eyes out towards the edge of the dark. Lexi stayed behind him as they stepped into the light and saw that the ceiling was cracked which spilled more light in. Just ahead, Steven saw something he'd never seen this deep in a cave before.

"Whoa," Lexi said in awe. A massive oak tree stood in the center of a rounded room and steps lead down to its base. Something hopped from its branches before a small tailow took to the sky and out the crack in the ceiling. The stream circled around the base of the oak and a stepping stone path was laid out to the small island the oak grew on.

Another dark shadow caught Stevens eye, but it wasn't a creature. He shined his flash light to the wall and saw hundreds, if not thousands of drawings on the stone walls. Some of them were Pokémon, but some were things he had never seen before.

"I think this is the room Brawnly was talking about," Lexi said softly as she took a careful step down onto the stair to rest it. Once she put her full weight, she slowly made her way down to the stepping stone path as Steven followed, "wow…"

"What?" Steven asked as he continued to look at the small drawings covering the wall.

"Come here and look at this…" she said softly as Steven rounded the tree. A massive mural was expertly painted on the back wall. It showed a battle between two great beasts that Steven only existed in Hoenn legend. Steven felt small compared to the vast size of the mural.

"That's something else," Lexi said as she crossed her arms and looked upon the painting, "what is it though?"

"Kyogre and Groudon," Steve said, "the gods of land and sea according to Hoenn legend." Lexi squinted and looked at the whale like creature rising out of the sea with its mouth opened wide towards the other beast which stood on land with its claw pulled back in attack.

"According to legend?" Lexi asked, "has no one seen them before?"

"A few lucky people have, and they ended up having just enough time to draw a vague description before getting killed," Steven said darkly, "legendarys are not beasts to be messed with without a descent team ready to fight."

 _Maybe it doesn't have to be that way…_ she thought, but kept her mouth closed. Surely these creatures killed those people for a reason…

"What do you feel when you look at this?" She spoke before she even knew what she was saying.

"Fear, worry…" he tried off for a moment, "confusion mostly. What's does this have to do with Team Magma and Aqua?"

"If they're gods and land and sea, maybe they're trying to find them?" She wondered, "it would explain the team names."

"That makes sense," Steven said, "but Kyogre and Groudon are legends and myths and no one knows where to find them."

"Never underestimate the power of a group on a mission," she said with a sigh, "what scares you about it?"

"Part of a trainers responsibility is to help protect pokemon and the world they live in," he said, "if the legends and this mural are to be believed, then if they come back then it's likely the whole world could be destroyed by the fighting."

She agreed with that logic, but she wasn't scared for the world. She was more scared for the safety of Kyogre and Groudon. Every being has a reason, maybe their reason was to reset the world when the time called for it. She dug her hands into her pockets and twisted something hard in her fingers. It felt like a rock, but she felt a chain attached to it.

"Come on," Steven said as he turned back towards her, "let's get out of here." She continued to gaze at the mural and felt something stir in her chest. A want to protect; a need to protect...

"Hey," he tuged on her sleeve lightly, "you alright?" Suddenly, all she could smell was blood and salt. She squeezed her eyes shut and swallowed hard. Steven felt her tremble slightly, "what's wrong?"

"I don't know…" she forced out and nearly fell to the ground, but Steven caught her, "I just…"

"Lexi?" He asked urgently as she fell silent and her gaze clouded over. He gripped her shoulders tightly and shook her, but she didn't respond, "Lexi!"

She couldn't hear him and she barely felt him shake her. All she hear was a roaring rain pounding against the ground and she felt a burning heat on her skin. Fear pricked her heart and it made her blood run cold. Her vision went pitch black.

"…Lexi?" Someone called from the dark, but they sounded very very far away. Part of her wanted to run towards the voice and find it as soon was possible, but the other half wanted to run and hide. Something shook her hard and she squeezed her eyes shut.

"I want out," she whispered to herself, "get me out…" when she opened her eyes, she was back in the cave and was staring at the mural. She somehow ended up on the floor and she felt arms wrapped around her shoulders and her head was laying against something. She twisted hard in panic, but she couldn't break free.

"Hey it's me," Steven said as he held her down, "it's just me…calm down." Lexi breathed and curled her arms into her chest. She was in a panic, that much she knew, and she knew that she need to ground herself.

She had gone limp in his arms and so he did the first thing that came to his mind. He held onto her and tried to ease his racing mind and pounding heart. Maybe the trek here had gotten to her and she fell out of exhaustion? Maybe she'd gotten sick from being out a Slateport or…

She stiffened in his arms and tried to pull away, but he just tightened his grip. Her breathing came out fast and ragged, but she stopped when he spoke.

"Steven?" She asked quietly and released a ragged breath. She blinked and her eyes came back into focus and she looked blindly for something to latch onto. She gripped his hand tightly and he rubbed slow circles on the back of her hand, but it wasn't enough.

"I've got you it's okay," Steven soothed and she focused on his voice and they way it rumbled deep in his chest. Then she focused on the rapid beating along side it. His heartbeat…the one thing that never seem to fail in calming her.

"I've got you," he said again and she took a deep breath, "I promise…" Slowly, very slowly, the sound of the thundering rain was drowned out by his voice and heart beat and the swelling heat with replaced with the pressure from his arms wrapped around her shoulders. Her breathing slowed and she buried her face in his shirt.

"What happened?" He asked softly as he stroked her head softly.

"I don't know…" she muttered by her voice was muffled by his chest, "all I could see was black and I smelt blood and salt and…" she broke off and wrapped herself around his chest tightly. Steven rested his head atop hers.

"I'm so sorry…" she muttered into his shoulder, "I didn't mean to scare you but…"

"Shhhhhh," he hushed, "just calm down. Catch your breath." She rocked out a sigh and closed her eyes and just let herself be held. She was calm just like before her attack, but she didn't move. She simply leaned against his chest and breathed deep. The argument that plagued her mind earlier had finally resolved itself and she didn't know wether to be excited or nervous…

When they got back to the town, they found Riley and Silas passed out with a mound of children sleeping on them. Altia had found a spot beside a fisherman and the man seemed to be holding a conversation with the Pidgyotto.

"And you're sure you're okay?" Steven asked and Lexi slapped his shoulder.

"I'm fine for the hundredth time!" She said, "and if you ask one more time then you're swimming home."

"It is a nice day for a swim…" he said slowly and broke into a smile, "but Rustboro is a long way from here."

"And from that hike it sounded like you could use the exercise," she joked as they padded down into the sand. Steven shoved her playfully and she laughed.

Silas slowly opened an eye and saw the two of them laughing, but something was different. He grunted and stood and two children fell into the sand. The two of them groaned and moved themselves closer to Riley who was still sound asleep. He bent down and stretched his claws into the sand and lazily looked around.

"Have a nice nap, bud?" Lexi greeted him with a rub behind the ears. Silas groaned and locked eyes with her. A noise broke their gaze as Steven pulled out his Pokedex and sighed softly.

"I've gotta go," he said as he pocketed the devise and pulled out a pokeball, "I'm getting called away as per usual."

"Where are you going?" She asked as Silas sat beside her.

"Trainer things," he said vaguely and glanced at her as he released his Skarmory, "I'll see you tonight?"

"Maybe..." she said softly with a quiet smile, "good luck on what ever it is." Steven flashed her a grin and took to the sky with alarming speed before disappearing into the clouds. Lexi sighed deeply and climbed onto Silas.

"Take me somewhere private," she said quietly, "I need to tell you something…" she flopped against his mane and groaned as Silas obeyed and trotted out of town.

"I just done know what to do, Silas," she sighed as she slid of his back into the shade of a tree in a tucked away stretch of beach, "I don't know how I should feel about him…" Silas rumbled deeply and laid down in the sand with his head on her leg.

"This is a crush," she finally admitted, "but I thought with a crush you wanted to sleep with whoever you're crushing on but… I don't. That can't be normal, can it?" She asked the Pyroar who nearly snorted in reply.

"I just want to be around him," she said as she placed a hand on his head, "I want to hear him laugh, I wanna hold his hand, I just want to be around him…" She fell back into the sand and stared at the sunlight cutting through the tree leaves and branches, "and he's been so kind and look at this." She fished out the small necklace from his jacket pocket. It was the same star sapphire necklace that she was looking at in Slateport and here he had it in his jacket pocket along with her pocket knife. Silas eyed the necklace and touched it gently to his nose.

"This was the same necklace that I couldn't afford in Slateport," she said and held the gemstone in her hand, "and he has it in his jacket pocket…"

 _"Maybe he bought it for you?"_ Silas rumbled even though he knew she couldn't understand him.

"He had to have bough it for someone else," she tried to convince herself, "maybe he just need a woman's opinion on it. Yeah… that's it." She quickly pocketed the necklace and Silas dipped his head and snorted.

"Why would someone like him be interested in someone like me anyway?" She laughed softly and closed her eyes tight, "I was just too hopeful as always."

"But you should have been there Silas," she said smiling faintly. Silas tilted his head to one side as she reopened her eyes, "he was so worried when we were trying to get out of the cave after I blacked out. He kept asking me over and over if I was okay and kept telling him I was fine." She laughed lightly, "maybe he really does care…" Silas barked in what she thought was agreement.

Hundreds of miles above them at the edge of space, an important meeting with being held. On one end, the Eon Pokémon Latios and Latias floated silently in front of Rayqauza who twisted and turned gracefully in the stratosphere.

"What do you mean it's skipped another generation?!?!" The eldest of the Eon twins cried, "it's already been 3 generations since the last one!"

"I know," Rayquaza said calmly, "I wish to speak to the others about the situation and see if their Keepers are still here, but I am too weak to make the journey. I know for a fact that Kalos and Sinnoh are without as well."

"Well what do we do?" Latias asked, "if these two groups succeed in waking Groudon and Kyogre then no one but you or the Keeper can control them."

"The Champion cannot control them?" Latios asked and Rayquaza shook his head.

"The Champion is strong; I have seen him battle before, but it will not be enough to control Groudon and Kyogre at the same time…"

"So fighting isn't the way to win this?"

"To a degree," Rayquaza said, "Team aqua and magma don't seem the type to not fight…"

"So what do we do?" Latias asked and Rayquaza closed his eyes.

"We wait until an opportunity presents itself..."

 **AN: I think I have somewhat of a publishing schedule now which will be Saturday or Sunday and I'll write through out the week which means nice long chapters which everyone loves :)**

 **Don't you just love it when a character is so hurt that they don't think someone loves them?** **Do you? Because I'm writing this and I feel frustrated because both of them keep finding an excuse for the others actions. I also decided to add the gaggle of children because who doesn't love children? So pure and loveable!**

 **Be sure to let me know your thoughts about honestly anything! I love seeing how my wording comes across people, but tell me what you think the Keepers are. I'm actually supper curious to know!!**


	10. Midnight blues

Another night, another mark on the calendar for days without sleep. Tonight was night number 5.

Steven stayed in his office during his insomniac episodes and spent most of the time going over paper work or cleaning. Tonight though, he had managed to finish off the last of the paperwork that had been building up after his break and his office was spotless. So here he sat; forgoing the leather study chair by the fire place for the cool support of his Metagross by the bay window. He had flipped the lights off when he first arrived and worked my candlelight hoping that that small thing would be enough to finally ease him into sleep, but it didn't work this time nor the dozens of others things he'd tried before.

His gaze drifted out the window and across the sea and watched small lights from villages and boats twinkle against the dark island and sea. Cool moonlight danced through the leaves outside his window, and he felt like it was mocking him.

Metagross nudged him gently in his mind. A question, laced with worry and concern. Steven leaned his head against the Pokémon steel frame, but kept his eyes locked on the dancing leaves.

"I'm fine, Metagross." He said half heartily and shifted his legs closer to his chest, "it's just…" Metagross interrupted him and finished his thought for him.

"Yeah that's one of the main ones," Steven replied with a sigh, "but it never just seems to be only one problem anymore." Metagross grunted softly in agreement.

Kyogre and Groudon. The main reason for his fear and stress that was causing his current insomniac nights. He had spent the past four days researching everything possible about the two legendarys in hopes of finding a type weakness or advantage, but everything he found so far was driving the hope farther and farther away from his sight. Even if the legendarys weren't real, there was still Team Magma and Aqua to deal with and descent reports were showing that the two groups were becoming more and more aggressive.

Most people would tell him not to worry so much, but it was his job to worry. It was his job to protect the region from threats wether they be man or Pokémon. He could even hear one of them telling him right now…

He squeezed his eyes shut and curled closer to his Metagross who hummed patiently. He didn't need her to add to his grief, but it seemed that her memory would linger longer than he wanted…

Miles away from Evergrande City, a lone light peaked through the tree line as Lexi stepped out of the forest. She was alone, no Silas or Riley by her side. It was just her and the two graves in front of her.

"I know you don't like me out late," she started, "but I can't sleep." She gently laid a half a dozen wild flowers on each grave and sat down.

"Silas and the others are doing good," she answered a question that only she could hear, "a bunch of trouble makers, but they're finally learning their way around a battlefield. We've…earned the first two badges in the regions gyms."

 _"It's a start dear,"_ the grave on the left said as a woman appeared in front of her and gazed at her sadly.

"I know," Lexi replied as she pulled out the two badges from her pocket, "but it's not much…"

 _"The start of something never gives you everything you need,"_ a voice said as a man appeared beside the woman.

"Altia loves battling the most," Lexi said with a soft chuckle, "which surprises me since she's the youngest."

 _"The youngest will always be the ones to want to fight more,"_ the woman said with a chuckle. Lexi's smile dropped and she clutched the badges in her hand.

"Why did you leave me?" She sobbed softly before covering her mouth, "why were you so cruel to me?" She glanced up at the figures, but only found empty eyes and cold stares. She bent over and sobbed as the two figures gently faded away with the wind. Her heart, no, her entire being was aching with such a deep pain that was so much worse than a broken bone or a gun shot. She looked up and spied the cliff with blurry eyes and one thought shot through her mind. She simply sobbed harder and fell to the ground.

 _"Are you okay?"_ A female voice asked, but it wasn't out loud. Lexi sniffled, but didn't move.

 _"Why are you mourning?"_ The voice spoke again, _"I thought death was the ultimate gift a human can receive?"_ Lexi finally sat up and whipped her eyes of tears before she saw a floating figure off to the side. A red and white body glistened in the moonlight as a blue symbol outlined its chest. The Pokémon tilted its head to one side as it spoke again.

 _"Can you understand me?"_ She asked as she drifted closer. Lexi wiped her nose and nodded her head, _"why were you crying?"_

"I'm just upset," Lexi answered, "I just miss them so much…"

 _"Have you tried singing?"_ The Pokémon cooed, _"I have seen humans do it before while crying and they seem better after they are done."_

"I'm sorry," she said softly, "but I'm not much of a singer." The Pokémon landed on a pair of three toed talons and carefully eyed the two gravestones.

 _"That is okay,"_ the Pokémon said as it looked back at her, _"I know that some humans are very different from one another."_

"And Pokémon it seems," she muttered to herself, "you're a psychic type right?" The Pokémon nodded its head and stepped towards the gravestones.

 _"Me and my brother protect the Hoenn from the many dangers that live in this world,"_ the Pokémon echoed in her mind, _"I mistook the sound and feeling of your mourning for distress by attack. I am very sorry to disturb you."_

"It's fine," Lexi replied out loud and let her gaze wonder back to the cliff side, "I've always preferred the company of Pokémon."

 _"You are a trainer then?"_ The Pokémon inquired as it glanced back at her. Lexi grinned awkwardly.

"I guess?" She replied, "I have a team and two of the regional badges but… it's a long story."

 _"I see…"_ the Pokémon echoed and glanced towards the sky, _"may I offer you a ride home? Or do you wish to stay and continue mourning?"_ The Pokémon stood in the window of the two graves as Lexi pulled her gaze away from the cliff. It was a bad idea to stay here by herself, but part of her willed her to stay.

"If you don't mind…" she finally forced out and her stomach twisted into knots. The Pokemon bowed her head and pulled out one of its slinger red and white wings. Lexi carefully threaded over and placed a hand on the wing; running her fingers through its feather.

 _"I will go slow,"_ the Pokémon said looking back at her. Lexi slowly and carefully pulled herself onto its back and held on tight to its neck as they slowly ascended.

The pokemon took her high above the clouds, but kept its promise about going slow. The turns were wide and each movement was made carefully. Soon Lexi found herself slowly sitting up on the creatures back and eventually stopped hanging on to its neck and only held on by her legs. It was so much different than flying with Wallace or Steven because with them there was a sense of urgency that lead to fast speeds and sharp turns. This was completely different in every way from how smooth the air felt to being able to touch the clouds and watch the mist dance through her fingers.

She wanted to fly longer, see every place in Hoenn, but she spied the twinkling lights of Rustboro on the horizon. She didn't remember ever telling the pokemon where to take her to, but it must be something else about psychic types that she need to learn.

The pokemon landed gracefully at the edge of town and Lexi slide off its back and onto the start of the stone roads. The pokemon cooed softly as she turned back towards it.

"Thank you for the ride home," she said with a slight bow of her head to which to pokemon returned.

 _"It was a pleasure,"_ the pokemon cooed, _"if you ever require my brother or my aid, only call and we shall be there… farewell, my friend."_ In one powerful downstroke, the pokemon took to the sky and sped away into the growing night, leaving only a jet stream behind.

Lexi quietly strolled through the town and found all of the lights off save for the street lamps. The pale moon lit her away back to Devon and she found the build the same as the town, dark and still. As she walked in through the employee entrance, she noticed that the air wasn't still like it should be for a building that hadn't had anyone move in it for well over three hours. Someone had either walked in or walked out recently.

She took a deep breath and forced her nerves to settle in a pit in her chest as she took the stairs to her room. Her ears strained to her anything in the massive building and her eyes lingered on any shadowed forms until light streaming from under the kitchen doorway caught her eye. She placed an ear to the door and heard papers ruffle and a tired sounding sigh. It was probably a scientist or a researcher working late into the night on one of their projects, but she…no, her anxiety need to be sure.

She carefully turned the handle of the door and pushed it open soundlessly. As her eyes adjusted to the light, she saw Steven sitting at the island with a two or three books beside him as well as papers scattered across the island. He wore his daily clothes, but his jacket was tossed aside on a kitchen chair. Lexi stared by the door, not really wanting to disturb him while he was studying, but something fell as she tried to close the door. Steven jumped slightly and spun around to face the noise.

"Who's there?" He asked. Lexi shy peaked from around the door and Steven relaxed.

"I didn't mean to scare you," Lexi said softly as Steven sat back down, "I thought you were asleep…"

"I thought you were too," he said as he flipped another page, "are you okay?"

"Yeah…" she said quietly as she walked in and took a seat opposite of Steven, "I've…been out to mom and dads graves." Steven signed something on the paper in front of him and sighed deeply.

"You've handled all of this really well," he said, "I'm actually impressed." It was meant to be a light hearted jab and normally she would have laughed or shot one back, but she wasn't feeling it tonight. She was tired, but she couldn't sleep and going out to her parents graves again wouldn't be the best decision. She sighed and laid her head down on the cold island top and closed her eyes. Her hair spilled out onto Steven papers, but he simple pushed it aside and finally sat up straight for the first time in almost an hour.

"We really need to get a sleep schedule figured out," he muttered as he picked up a small section of her hair and lazily braided it. Lexi said something, but it was muffled, "what?"

"I said," she replied a little louder, "where's the fun in that?" She lifted her head slightly and laid it back down on the island as Steven finished off the lazy braid and left it hanging fof the island. He heard a muffled 'thank you' before he started back on his work. About half way through the second proposal, Lexi looked up and sat her chin on the island.

"I have a question," she said as she watched his hand follow the words on the page.

"Go for it," he replied.

"So physic types," she started, "can they communicate with us? Like in our minds?"

"Some of them can," Steven answered as he signed the paper and set it aside, "its mostly final evolution physic types that are able to communicate, but it's usually in the form of their own sounds and calls. Some, like Metagross, can send emotions and vague impressions of questions and words, but no pokemon can speak to us telepathically. At least, not one that has been recorded so far."

"Hm," was her only reply, "if I describe a pokemon, do you think you could tell me what it is?"

"Probably," Steven shrugged.

"Flying type with a red and white body and a blue symbol on its chest," she described.

"It sounds like Latias," Steven replied, "her and her brother Latios live here in Hoenn." He finally set his pen down as stretch his arms high above his head, "why do you ask?"

"I think I met Latias tonight," she said as her eyes snapped back into focus, "at the graves she appeared and spoke to me…"

"What did she say?" Steven asked suddenly forgetting his paper work.

"She asked if I was okay because I started crying. She kept looking at my parents graves," she shook her head slightly, "her voice was…echoey in my mind." Steven slowly nodded his head as he processed the information.

"Her and her brother have been showing up more and more recently, but mostly to the elite four and higher gym leaders. They occasionally aid in bigger battles but why would she appear to you? You're not a trainer…"

"Maybe my luck is just really good in Hoenn," she joked and chuckled dryly. She groaned quietly and laid her head back down on the island and Steven smiled at her sadly.

"Why don't you head to sleep," he said returning to the paper work, "I'll be back in bed in a bit I just needed to get this done."

"You're a terrible liar," she said, but her voice was once again too muffled for Steven to understand. She grunted in annoyance.

"I can't sleep," she finally admitted, "I keep having nightmares…"

"What about?" Steven asked. She felt a weight straddle her hips and chest and smelt a rich colon.

"I'd rather not say…" she replied shamefully as Steven put another paper away. He stood and organized his books.

"You can stay with me tonight," he said as he flipped off the lamp, "I could use the company anyway." Lexi smiled shyly and followed him out the kitchen.

 **AN: *point to calendar* I think I'm a little late updating and god has PuNiShEd mE. This transition piece was a pain to write because I had no idea how to write it. This was rewritten at least ten times and was completely different each time, but I finally landed on an piece that I think fits well. Also if you couldn't tell when she got shot, this story is gonna be a bit more gory and have some questionable topics and actions. Between Lexi's abuse and history of self harm and Stevens problems that have yet to be told (but if you're smart you might be able to tell what's up) I will just say now that THERE WILL BE NO SELF HARMING AND OR SUICIDAL SCENES THAT I HAVE PLANNED!!! Lexi will come close on a few different occasions, but if I need it to happen it will not be written. As a self harmer myself writing about the act is very very triggering and will put me out for a few days. And plus, you people are too nice to deny a chapter a week.**

 **Anyway! Lexi is hiding her badges and gym battles from Steven! She also can understand Latias and is hallucinating about her mom and dad! Steven is a mess and one person won't leave him alone! Thanks for the support!!!**


	11. Battle plan

High atop Mt. Chimney, three men look down as a group of red and blue dressed people battle around the lip of the volcano. Snarls and howls filled the air, almost drowning out the harsh wind whipping their clothes. One of the scoffed.

"This is where they said they'd be?" He snarled with sharpened teeth, "this place wouldn't even be fit for a Lapras, much less a Keeper…"

"They've never been wrong before," another man hissed, "and you should be shoved down there with the squabble for saying such a things about them!" The other man snarled and a red his teeth as the other did the same.

"Both of you hush!" The third man barked out. A loud growl came from the others throat, "waste your talents on each other for all I care once we get back home! But we have a job to do! Zeb, back down!" The man who stared the fight growled softly and stood back up, but the other man refused to give in.

"Eclipse…" the leader warned. The other man finally gave in and stood straighter, but watched Zeb closely.

"Now if you two are done acting like pups," the leader snapped, "then maybe we could actually find and clean up Marcus's failure…"

"Surely she is old and slow by now," Eclipse growled, "it'll be an easy kill…"

"Marcus's overconfidence was his weakness," Zeb growled back, "don't let it be yours, Eclipse." Eclipse snarled, but was quickly silenced with a hard glare from the leader.

"I want you two to search together," the leader said as his eyes looked back to the battle below, "and for the love of Arceus don't get caught because I won't help you."

"And where are you going?" Eclipse snarled, "going to enjoy a nice drink with the locals?"

"If you wish to join me and get yourselves killed, be my guests," the leader cooed, "but I am not searching this cursed island on my own while carrying your corpses with me. You should know why they even told me to come here in the first place."

"Take down one Keeper and suddenly you're the most respected bastard in the pack," Eclipse muttered, "It isn't going to like taking down a Keeper!" The leaders slender ear twitched back before Zeb and Eclipse trudge down the mountain side. The leader listened to them go before he grunted.

"I expected to find at least one of you up here," the leader pondered, "unless the time line has been switched again…" the man growled softly before disappearing in a flash of smoke.

Meanwhile, Lexi and the Professor had spent the past few hours scrubbing blood stains out of hard wood flooring and wallpaper. Most of the smaller items had already been carted away and sold at the Slateport marketplace so only the bigger furniture remained like the couch, bed, and dressers.

"I think that's as good as we're gonna get it," Lexi sighed with her voice muffled by the red bandana tied around her mouth and nose. The blood stain that the two of them had been working on for the past 30 minutes was now a faded orange, but the color still wouldn't come up no matter how much bleach and cleaner they scrubbed into the wood.

"Break time?" The professor asked with a thin film of sweat forming on his forehead.

"Break time." She answered and slid the bandana down and they walked outside.

Even from the outside of the house the smell of cleaner was strong, but Lexi could still smell the copper tang of fresh blood and gun smoke. A cool breeze blew through the open windows and some of the curtains were pulled out the window and danced like bad ghosts. She sighed as Silas bumped her hand.

"Well," the Professor said, "it certainly smells better."

"Won't argue with that," she replied with a dry chuckle, "thanks for helping by the way. There was no way I could clean this house up by myself."

"I just hope it goes to a good home," the professors said as he eyed the home, "from what I know, this house has been here almost 70 years. I'm surprised it's in as good a shape as it is."

"Maybe that'll help it sell," Lexi said as Silas rumbled against her leg with a low purr, "though the guy is really late…"

"He'll show," the professors reassured her with a grin, "but I've gotta leave. Are you sure you can handle this by yourself?"

"Yes I will be fine," Lexi grinned, "tell Jodie I said hi for me."

"Will do, Lexi," He said with a smile and followed the road back towards Littleroot. Lexi grunted and sat on the porch as Silas sat his head on her knee.

"You're awful needy today," she said as she scratched him behind his ear, "or maybe you're just wanting to get to the next gym?" Silas snorted and closed his eyes. Altia flew in a few minutes later with Riley on her back and a small bag held in her beak. She landed with a delighted chirp and handed Lexi the bag.

"Let's see…" she said as she dug threw its contents, "bingo!" She quickly pulled out a small container of blue berries. Silas barked as Lexi sampled one of the berries.

"Oh yeah," she breathed, "nice and sweet…" Silas barked again and grabbed the container in his jaws and spilled half of the berries on the floor. Lexi laughed and dove after the container as Silas dropped it and turned his head.

"Now look what you've…" she stopped as Silas growled deeply. She froze on the ground and strained her ears before someone called out.

"Are you Lexi Starlight?" A cool voice asked. Lexi let her breath go and wiped the dirt from her pants.

"Yeah that's me," she said, "sorry my team was being…" she turned and her eyes were captivated by the man standing at the end of the driveway. Black hair swept back across his forehead and a small smile played on his lips.

"Are..uh..you from the agency?" She stuttered as the man briskly walked towards her. Silas's fur bristled as his lips drew back. Riley snorted warningly

"Yeah," the man said as he stopped in front of her and stuck his hand out, "Jackson Miller from Mossdeep hometown." She shook his hand and went weak in the knees. She had never felt this girly and silly before over a stranger of all people. He was tall and, judging by his handshake, very strong.

"Well..um..this is it," she said and quickly let go of his hand and gestured towards the house, "I've been busy cleaning most of this morning."

"I can tell," he said with a smile, "how about we go inside?" Silas stepped around and snarled low at them and kept them from going in.

"Silas!" Lexi scolded the Pyroar, "be nice he's trying to help." Silas simply snarled back towards the man as Riley and Altia stood off to the side. The man chuckled deeply as Lexi fished for his Pokéball.

"A bit protective?" He asked Lexi as he eyed the Pyroar.

"A bit too much at times," she said glaring at Silas as she pulled out his ball and called him back in, "I'm sorry. Let's head inside."

"This is a beautiful home," Jackson remarked as they stepped into the living room, "why do you want to get rid of it?"

"Personal reasons mostly," Lexi shrugged, "it's too big for me alone so I decided to get rid of it. That and it's too far away from some close friends of mine."

"Where are you staying now?" He asked and glanced back at her, and that's when she noticed that the irises of his eyes were ripped creating an oval like shape.

"In Rustboro," she answered after shaking off the abnormality, "a friend of mine is letting me stay with him until I find a place of my own."

"Well then he's a lucky man to have you so close by," Jackson said with a grin. Lexi felt heat paint her cheeks red as she giggled.

"I suppose so," she said, "but he's been busy lately so I haven't gotten to see much of him."

"That's a shame," Jackson said as he looked down at her. Lexi's heart caught in her throat and her stomach twisted, "you don't suppose he'd mind if I took you out then sometime?"

"Oh…h-he's not my boyfriend or anything!" Lexi exclaimed suddenly and then looked down at her feet. Jackson laughed loudly.

"Then it's settled then," he said with a grin, "I'll meet you at Slateport by the lighthouse say around 8?. I know a great café by the beach that's really good."

"A-alright," Lexi stuttered and looked up at him wide eyed, "Do you want to finish looking at the home?"

"I can already tell that it'll sell pretty fast," he said as his eyes scanned the room, "but I'd like to finish looking anyway."

"Right this way then," she said with a wide smile and led him to the kitchen.

Meanwhile, Riley and Altia stayed in the porch. Altia was busy stuffing herself with the box full of berries while Riley ignored them completely. The Lucario sniffed the air and growled.

 _"What is it?"_ Altia asked with a beak full of berries.

 _"Blood,"_ Riley growled and sniffed again, _"and char and smoke."_ The scent trail lead directly into the house and was its strongest in the man beside Lexi.

 _"Maybe Mossdeep is close to a volcano,"_ Altia suggested, _"but that wouldn't really explain the blood…"_

 _"Silas wouldn't attack until he knew something was wrong. The man could be a trainer and had a scrap with a wild pokemon, but…"_ Riley sniffed deeply, looking for any hint as to what pushed the Pyroar, _"I can't smell anything past that…"_

 _"Maybe we should give him a chance?_ " Altia suggested, _"I know that it's our job to protect her…but she can take care of herself, can't she?"_ Riley sighed and perked her eyes at the sound of Lexi's laughter.

 _"Maybe you're right…"_ Riley said finally as she sat back down on the porch. Altia pushed over a small bundle of berries and Riley ate them reluctantly.

In Ever Grande City, Steven and the Elite Four sat at a long conference table. Each had a stack of papers and books about a specific subject. Drake was giving a list of rumors and tall tales, Sidney was tasked with learning everything possible about Team Magma and Glacia was tasked with learning about Team Aqua and Phoebe was in charge of investigation the groups attack sights, which left Steven in charge of learning everything possible about Kyogre and Groudon. Each member was boarder lined exhausted, but they couldn't rest until the threat the groups posed was eliminated.

"Not much was left after the battle on Mt. Chimney," Phoebe said as she shifted through her notes, "it seemed that one of the groups was altering the purpose of the thermal generator, but I wasn't able to tell which group or what the alterations were for."

"Either Aqua was trying to make the volcano dormant…" Glacia started.

"Or Magma is trying to trigger the volcano into exploding," Sidney finished for her, "either situation is not going to end good."

"What about the attempts to steal the Devon parts?" Steven asked as he laced his fingers together and sat his chin on his knuckles. Glacia and Sidney both shifted through more notes as Phoebe spoke up.

"Ive only been able to find two official reports of the attempted theft with one being at Slateport and another being in the Petalburg woods. I haven't looked into the third attempt just yet, but it was unsuccessful as well."

"Lexi told me she was able to get the parts back fairly easily that morning," Steven said as Phoebe wrote something on her notes, "the way she described the thief sounded like it was someone from team Magma. Any idea why they want these parts so bad?"

"It could be anything from a massive geoweapon to a vehicle considering how general and powerful the parts are," Glacia said with a sigh, "neither Sidney nor I have been able to find any concrete evidence as to what they plan to use the parts for." Steven nodded and processed the information and theories before addressing Drake who had remained quiet so far.

"What have you found out Drake?" Steven inquired as he leaned back in the leather seat.

"A bunch of ghost story's it seems," Drake started, "a lot of it doesn't make any sense at all."

"None of this does," Steven retorted, "so you might as well tell us what you've found." Drake threw him a quick glance.

"Most of what I was able to find were simple legendary tales; the legendary dogs and the lake spirits were two of the most commonly written, but I was able to find about massive rips in the sky and golden rings that were said to force pokemon here against their will. Then there were three story's I've found that could be our chance to win…" he stopped for a moment and took a breath, like what he was about to say was a ten ton weight on his chest.

"The first way was an old legend from Pacificdog Town and the elders there speak of an old underwater cave that supposedly holds the Regi trio and that if someone can control them then Regigigus will appear and its strength might be enough to end the fighting between Kyogre and Groudon," Drake rubbed his beard and his eyes were fixed on one spot on the table, "another way was an extremely old legend of Rayquaza and how it as calmed Kyogre and Groudon in the past, but I couldn't find anything on how to find the dragon or how to control it."

"And the third way?" Sidney asked anxiously. Drake sighed before speaking.

"The only thing I found on a third way was a phrase written in an old myth book. The phrase was "the blood of the Guardian shall not be shed by those they protect, but by the monsters that hunt them."

"Well that's cryptic as hell," Sidney cursed which earned him a glare from Glacia, "what's all that supposed to mean?"

"A Guardian, those they protect, and the monsters that hunt them…" Phoebe repeated, "maybe it's an unidentified legendary? Maybe one that protects the others?"

"But who would be crazy enough to try to track down and kill a legendary?" Sidney exclaimed, "they're almost impossible to find!"

"'I've heard it done before, but only in tall tales and story's," Glacia spoke calmly. Steven sighed and rubbed his temples at the headache forming behind his eyes. This was only giving more questions than answers and he couldn't tell which questions needed to be answered first. What the hell did that riddle mean? Who or what was the Guardian? Which choice of the three was the best way to protect Hoenn?

The group discussed for what felt like hours. Each member gave their opinion of what the best choice of action should be, but the decision was Stevens in the end. Since the third choice about trying to find the "Guardian" didn't have enough information to be credible, no one was really confident about and it was just his luck that the table was perfectly divided. Drake and Glacia were for summoning the Regi Trio while Phoebe and Sidney wanted to search for Rayquaza. Steven honestly just wanted to take a nap at this point and hope that he's sleep long enough that the whole thing would blow over.

"I think we should search some more," Steven finally said, "the two options still have some unknown factors that I don't want to risk. I don't want to risk anyone's life during these upcoming fights." Glacia nodded in agreement as did Sidney.

"Find out what you can about that riddle, but focus more on the Regi Trio and Rayquaza, then send me a report," Drake nodded his head thoughtfully, "the rest of you I want you to continue working on what you're assigned. We need to know why they want these Devon parts so bad and what they plan on building."

"You got it Boss," Sidney answered with a smirk. Everyone quietly gathered their papers and notes and it was then that the overhead lights were out shining the streaming sunlight. They had been in for almost four hours. Steven stood and and stretched his aching legs after sitting for so long.

"Steven?" Glacia asked. Steven glanced towards the doorway and saw her and Phoebe.

"Yes?" Steven asked and Glacia arched an eyebrow.

"When was the last time you had a nights rest?" She asked crossing her arms.

"I'll be fine, Glacia," he said turning away and stalking towards the window, "but thank you for your concern."

"That isn't going to work on us anymore," she said stubbornly, "if we really are close to battling legendarys then we need everyone in top form, that includes you."

"We're just worried about you," Phoebe spoke up, "we've seen what happens when you're out under a lot of stress and…"

"Thank you for your concern," Steven said not having the energy to have this discussion, "but I've had to deal with worse stress and pressure than this."

"And you reacted far better than this," Glacia shot back but Steven kept his gaze out the window. When he didn't respond, she sighed, "please take care of yourself Steven, you're the best one we've had so far." Steven didn't reply as the pair walked out and shut the massive oak door. He took a deep breath to steady himself; to collect himself and it actually worked for once. He felt some tension leave his muscles and his headache dulled ever so slightly.

He dug his hands into his jacket pockets and felt the slender pocket knife and the necklace that he had yet to give to Lexi. He didn't really know why he hadn't because there had been plenty of opportunities to give it to her. Not as of late, but that was beside the point. Wallace had even called him out for it the last time they were together which bothered him more than he thought it would.

He glanced over at the clock mounted over the doorway; 7:13. She would be in her room by now either helping him with his research or doing her own reading. Either way, she wouldn't be busy and with the sun just now beginning to set they might be able to squeeze in a little stroll on the shoreline. Then he could finally give her the necklace.

His heart leaped to his throats and he let out a small grin. He could just imagine the smile on her face when he'd give it to and the way her green eyes would sparkle in happiness.

He cleared his throat to try and clear the grin on his face before he left the room and he almost got it…almost. As he walked past Drakes office, he spied Glacia and him sitting at Drakes desk and discussing something quietly. Steven payed no mind and continued out the building. Drakes eyes followed him out and watched from his window as Steven called out his Skarmory and took to the sky. Drake grunted and turned back to Glacia.

"Did you see it too?" Drake asked lifting his leg to his knee and taking a quick swing of his drink.

"That grin?" Glacia clarified and Drake nodded somberly, "I don't know what's changed his mood so quick, but I'm glad that it was enough to snap him out of this strange slump his been in because of all of this Team Aqua and Magma nonsense."

"I just hope she'll enough…" Drake muttered.

"She?" Glacia asked sharply and crossed her arms and leaned back in the chair, "anything you wanna share?" Drake chuckled but internally cursed himself.

"If the lad wanted you to know then he'd have told you," the older answered, "and it's only a hunch of mine anyway. I've been around long enough to know that look from a mile away." Glacias eyebrow arched up as she connected the dots almost instantly. She chuckled quietly after Drake shrugged his shoulders.

Meanwhile high in the sky, a looming beast hid in the cover of thick clouds as its eyes scanned the sky; watching and waiting. It's long ear twitched as the soft clink and chime of metal wings caught its ear. The beast growled and watched as a figure bolted past it's hiding spot. The beast glided down from it cover and took off after, making sure to stay directly behind the flier. He beast tilted its wings slightly upward as it formed a large blue fireball in its jaws. They were right over the sea, a direct hit would put them in the sea and far to weak to swim. This was perfect.

The beast launched the fire ball forward and watched in satisfaction as the pokemon and its rider were shot down from the sky and rapidly began plummeting towards the sea.

 **AN: Meet Jackson! My version what I think sexual people like cause I'm asexual so I have no idea what sexual attraction is. Steven just might confess to Lexi that his heart goes bump bump when he gives her the necklace. Who were those three people at the battle for Mt. chimney? Do you ship Lexi and Jackson or Lexi and Steven? Will I ever actually stick to a posting schedule? The answer to all of those questions will vary especially that last one.**

 **Also you know what we haven't had in a while? BlOoDShEd**

 **I'm not feeling the love y'all remember to review and favorite and make sure you all pat your dogs and tell them it's from me.**


	12. Broken

The beast watched as the Pokemon plummeted to the ground with a sharp cry and desperately held onto its rider. The beast watched as the pokemon managed to glide its way to the tree line and crash into the trees with a loud scream. The beast grunted in annoyance. He'd hoped that his prey would fall into the sea and, after the damage from the initial attack, be too weak to swim to shore. But of course things wouldn't be that easy; they never are.

The beast dove down and followed the kind of snapped trees and up turned earth until he finally found his prey. A charred Skarmory limped and helped its rider up and that rider was Hoenns champion. The beast landed and observed the injuries. The Skarmory was in no fighting condition and neither was that silver haired bastard. His face twisted in pain as he tried to push himself up from the ground and he noticed various cuts and quick bruises forming on his skin.

Suddenly, the Skarmory twisted its head towards the beast and flared out its wings in attack. The beast growled back deeply, but the Skarmory didn't falter. The beast slowly stalked out from the woods and saw the champion scramble back with his one good arm.

 _"I'm here for your rider, not you."_ The beast growled out a warning, _"leave or you will die with him."_ The Skarmory didn't respond and let out a chattered call. The beast snorted and leapt forward.

Steven sat with his back to a tree as he watched the fight. He needed to find a way for them to get out, but he could hardly walk and he's arm spiked in pain anytime he moved it. Skarmory couldn't fight for long against the massive, dark skinned Salamance, but luckily, he had another member of his team with him.

Skarmory cried sharply as the Salamance bit down on its body and tossed it way into the woods. Then it turned its attention to Steven and began stalking towards him. Steven trembled in pain as he stood to face the Salamance, trying to calm the beast before he openly attack it.

"Easy," he said calmly as the beast bared its teeth with a low growl, "I don't want to hurt you…" The Salamance snorted and Steven swore he saw the faintest hint of a smile in his yellowed teeth.

Suddenly, the beast charges forward and pins Steven before he can do anything. He holds the Salamance at bay with legs while he digs in his pockets for anything to defend himself with. His fingers hit cold steel as the Salamance massive claws grazed his chest, ripping his clothes and drawing blood. He pulls out the pocketknife, flips open the blade and plunges it into the Pokemons neck. The Salamance got one more claw in before stumbling back; dark red blood dropped from the knife still lodged in his neck. Steven pushed himself back as his fingers finally found Metagross's pokeball. The steel type appeared shook the ground as its claws dug into the ground. The Salamance narrowed its eyes and threw itself at Metagross as Steven limped over to find Skarmory near death against a tree stump. The pokemon cooed softly as Steven knelt down beside him and saw the massive black gash the Salamance had left in its side.

"You need to get out of here and find help," Steven said as Skarmory struggled to stand, "find Drake and the others." Skarmory collapsed and whimpered as Steven dug in his pockets for anything to help his injuried pokemon. He pulled out a small, half full yellow potion and began applying it to the gash in his pokemons side.

"I know it's not much, but it'll be enough for you to get back Ever Grande," he said quickly emptying the bottle. Skarmory perked up almost immediately, but was still very hurt. Skarmory looked down at Steven one more time before taking to the sky as fast as it could.

Meanwhile, Metagross was quickly becoming covered in dark and sickly blood from and Salamance and from its self, but neither pokemon was willing to give up. The Salamance was quickly losing its strength, but was ready to do anything to take the Hoenn champion out of the upcoming events.

The Salamance broke off its attack and began barreling towards Steven. Metagross took off after it, but couldn't keep up as Steven backed up and managed to crawl his way into a gap of the tree stump. The Salamance first tried to claw its way down to him, then resorted to trying to crush him under the weight of the stump. Metagross got to it before then, but the stump had fallen in enough to trap Steven and put enough pressure to crush his ribs. Metagross had had enough and head butted the creature in its side as its spike pierced its skin. The Salamance roared and fell back, finally giving up the fight but was certain that it's prey would die and eventually bring out the real prize.

The Salamance staggered to the sky and once it was out of sight, Metagross went to address Steven, who was now trapped under the stump.

Breathing hurt like hell. It was like a fire was spreading in his lungs, but he couldn't tell if it was the weight of the stump or the possible broken ribs. It didn't feel like it but shock was a hell of a thing. The next thing Steven knew, he was laying face up to the sky with Metagross hovering over him. The steel type hadn't faired well in the battle either and was covered in cuts and scratches and an alarming amount of blood.

"I'm fine, Metagross." Steven said weakly and extended a hand on to his pokemon, "you fought really well. I'm proud. " Weather Metagross actually responded or not was not his concern as he noticed his pain slowly disappearing.

"Skarmory should be back in a little bit," he said softly as speaking set waves of pain across his chest, "we just gotta be…patient." He fought his mind to keep himself awake. He focused on the blistering pain to keep himself from falling asleep, but he was just so tired. Maybe just a little nap wouldn't be so bad…

The Elite Four knew something was wrong when Skarmory came back alone. They began fearing the worst when the pokemon collapsed as it landed, almost too weak to make the trip on its own. The pokemon was quickly healed and began chirping and crying, pulling on the Elites sleeves to get them to move faster. Each Elite mounted and followed the Skarmory as it went screaming across the sky to a remote clearing. There, they found Steven laying unconscious with Metagross standing guard over him looking beaten and exhausted.

Phoebe was the first down and rushed to Stevens side as Drake went to Metagross. Sidney went to Phoebe as Glacia called for help. Metagross was hurt worse than Drake had ever seen him before, but the pokemon was more interested in its trainers health than its own.

"He's hurt bad," Sidney shouted, "we need to get him back to Ever Grande and get him some help as soon as we can."

"What are his injuries?" Glacia asked calmly, but Drake had been around her long enough to know that she was terrified.

"Multiple gashes and possible a broken arm," Sidney replied as he carefully checked over, "maybe some internal stuff, but I don't know he's just breathing real funny."

"That's not good," Drake mumbled to himself and Metagross rumbled in what he took as agreement. The steel type grunted and lowered itself to the ground as Skarmory drifted over with two pokeball she clutched in its talons. Drake took the balls and returned each pokemon as Glacia finished up the call and walked towards Steven and the others.

"Some doctors from Moss Deep are meeting us in Ever Grande," she said and carefully looked back at his bloodied face and chest, "we need to get him back as soon as possible."

"That's not gonna be easy," Phoebe said, "he's in no condition to fly back on small flyers like what we came on. He needs to fly back on something large and stable."

"Was wondering… when you'd get here…" a weak voices called and then coughed sharply. The group looked down in surprise to find Steven awake and trying to sit up. Phoebe immediately placed a hand on his shoulder and raised him back down.

"You need to keep still," she urged, "we don't know how bad you're hurt."

"It's my…ribs…" he struggled out and placed a hand just below his chest, "I don't…think they're broken but…" he winced as Phoebe gently touched around his hand, "it sure does hurt…"

"We need to get you out of here," Glacia said as she scrolled through her pokedex for a specific contact to help them safely move Steven.

"What did this, Boss?" Sidney asked as he glanced around the damaged trees and ground.

"A Salamance," Steven replied, "we were shot down and landed here…then it attacked Skarmory and then me."

"Jesus…" Sidney cursed, "I've never heard of such a thing." Steven grunted once more and fell into a fit of painful coughs.

"I've got someone that can help get you back to Ever Grande," Glacia said as she stepped back towards the group, "I didn't want to call them just yet, but they were the only ones I could think of that could help."

"Let me guess," Steven said after taking a strangled breath, "Wallace?" Glacia nodded silently.

"He was the only one I could think of that was close by," Glacia said apologetically, "and we need…"

"…to get me back to Ever Grande," Steven finished for her, "I know I've heard it at least three times."

"For someone walking up deaths driveway, you're taking this pretty well," Phoebe said as she carefully checked the state of his arm.

"If this is what dying feels like then I've been lied to my whole life," Steven said before wincing in pain once more as Phoebe gently prodded his arm.

"Sorry," Phoebe apologized, "I'm just trying to gage how bad it is,"

"No it a good thing," Steven hissed out with his teeth clenched, "considering that I can really feel the constant pain anymore."

Suddenly, a massive gust of wind blew around them as Wallace landed and jumped off Tropius. Glacia met him half way as the rest of them prepared to move Steven as carefully as possible. Sidney looped Stevens good arm over his shoulder while Drake wrapped his arm around the upper part of Stevens chest. Steven and Wallace locked eyes for a split second and guilt kicked him in the gut.

"Hey Wallace," Steven greeted with a pained smile, "it's been a bit since I saw you."

"And I'm still somehow saving your ass," Wallace joked half heartily and returned the smile, "let's get you on."

The next ten minutes were spent trying to get atop the Tropuis as painlessly as possible, but every slight twist and breath felt like someone shoving hot coals into his chest. Wallace had thankfully brought along a makeshift stretcher and he was carefully laid down and Drake and Sidney carefully carried him and held him steady as they took off back to Ever Grande.

It was all blurred after that. Doctors calmly tested him and treated his injuries. He was stuck with IVs and a heart monitor. Before he knew it, his mind drowned all of it out and fell asleep.

Meanwhile, Wallace stood with the others outside the makeshift hospital room. He didn't want to believe that Steven was in as bad a shape as Glacia described but after seeing him unable to walk and fresh blood dripping from open gashes, Steven was lucky to be alive.

He sighed and rubbed his face before looking down at the message that had just come in to his Pokedex.

Glacia and Sidney stood beside his as one of the doctors conversed with Drake and Phoebe. The normally calm and collected Elite Four were shaken after finding Steven in the state he was in and for good reason. Steven wasn't Champion because he was a nice guy; he was the strongest trainer in Hoenn and it was clear that whatever attacked him was a pokemon. If Steven couldn't beat that pokemon, then what chance did they stand?

"I'll be back," Wallace said as he typed out a quick reply. The two Elites were too engrossed in thought to reply outside of a small head nod from Glacia. Wallace nodded to Drake as he passed the other two and stepped out into the cool night air where Tropius stood patiently. The grass type bend it's head and tumbled a greeting as Wallace gently stoked its neck.

"We need to head to Slateport," he said locking eyes with the beast for a moment. The pokemon grunted once more and lowered its body as Wallace climbed onto its back and they took back to the sky.

The beach was deserted as he landed beside the dock, but one person sat at one of the beach chairs and turned their head as Wallace slid off.

"Wanna tell me where you're stealing me to?" She asked jokingly as she stood with a smile. That smile quickly disappeared once she saw the look on his face, "Wallace?"

"It's Steven," Wallace said grimly and her face fell, "he's been hurt. Bad. I need you to come with me."

"What? What happened?" She asked as she immediately ran up to him and they started back to Tropius.

"I don't know the full details, but he was attacked by something," he said as he pulled himself up and then helped her up, "Lexi, he's not in good shape."

"Then there's no time to lose," she said soberly as they took off. They were silent the entire way and Wallace fully expected her to jump off and run as soon as they landed back in Ever Grande, but she stuck close to Wallace.

Everyone was gathered around a doctor when they walked in. Drake silently acknowledged Wallace and quickly glanced at Lexi before turning back to the doctor.

"…several lacerations on his chest along with some burns on his arms and back. As far as his ribs go I don't think any a broken, but there is a possibility that one or two are fractured and I'm 100% sure that there are some severely bruised ribs."

"About how long will it take for him to recover?" Glacia asked.

"He should be up and walking again in around two weeks at the most," the doctor replied and a weight was lifted off everyone's chest, "from what I've seen, there is no permanent damage."

The Elites all sighed in relief. Wallace did as well, before he noticed Lexi standing at the window looking into the room. Her hand covered her mouth tightly, but her eyes didn't move. Wallace crossed over to her and saw that Steven was now bare chested with thick bloodstained bandages wrapped around his chest. A small amount of dried blood was caked over his lips and his silver hair was now dirty with flecks of blood.

"He's going to be fine," he reassured her as he took her free hand and squeezed it gently, "the doctor said there'd be no permanent damage outside of some scaring."

"But what did this?" She whispered, "Team magma or Aqua couldn't…"

"We don't know what happened, Lass," Drake interrupted, "and we won't know until he wakes up."

"Drake's right," Phoebe added, "no one was around during the attack." Lexi turned back towards the window and Wallace could see her push down her fear and worry.

"How about we have a rest and clear our heads?" Drake suggested, but Lexi just shook her head slightly.

"He made sure I was ok when I was hurt," she said, "it's only fair that I do the same."

"I agree," Drake replied with a slight nod, "but this is a sudden event for you and I want to be sure that you can cope."

"I can cope I just…" she squeezed her eyes tight at the sudden striking pain in her skull. She wanted to cry, but she also wanted to scream and run as fast as should could. Wallace placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Let's at least go to Drake's office," he said kindly as she spelt opened her eyes, "we can get a game plan then work out what to do." Lexi nodded wordlessly and followed the two down the hall as Phoebe stuck close to her.

"You okay, dear?" She asked kindly.

"Just a crazy bad headache," she muttered and met the other woman's stare. The other smiled softly.

"I'll be around with some medicine in a bit," she said, "just follow Wallace and Drake." She left with another smile and broke away as Lexi followed them into a large office space. Off to the side of the room, a large blue winged pokemon lifted its head from its nest and cooed softly as Drake passed and sat at the over sized oak desk. Lexi followed silently behind Wallace as they sat in large red chairs.

"Now then," Drake said as he bent down for a moment and pulled up a bottle of brown liquid along with three small glasses, "since we don't know what to look for until Steven wakes up, how about we get to know each other?" Drake smiled kindly at Lexi, but found her staring off at seemingly nothing. She dug her nails into the soft cloth of the chair to try and ground herself. Her mind was drawing up nothing and she didn't feel like she was in her own skin anymore.

"You already know Wallace," Drake continued as he poured three glasses, "Names Drake. I'm apart of the Elite Four in Hoenn." Lexi nodded her head slowly and her eyes fixated on the corner of the desk. She couldn't hold onto the words at all. It was like trying to hold water in an open hand.

But they waited patiently as she slowly pulled her mind back into reality. She dug her nails into her palms and forced herself to blink until she finally felt…there. Wallace and Drake waited quietly as each took slow sips of their drink. She eyed her own glass and took a thin sip, just enough to feel that burning tingle down her throat and that final push to bring her completely back.

"Better?" Drake's raspy voice asked and Lexi nodded with and small sigh, "take all the time you need, lass."

"I think I'm good now," she hoarsed out and cleared her throat, "that happens from time to time."

"I understand," Drake nodded with another smile, "now back to introductions…"

"Right," Lexi said quickly, "I'm…"

"Lexi," Drake finished for her with a soft chuckle, "I'm glad to finally put a face to a name." Lexi arched an eyebrow and Drake chuckled again.

"The battle of Slateport was televised and we've heard about you from Steven," he said taking another sip of his drink, "your battle skills sound very impressive for a new trainer."

"Oh," she said and rubbed the back of her neck, "thank you. I've been to some of the gyms around the region and I've got two of the badges."

"You aiming to take on the Champion?" Drake asked leaning back in his seat as Lexi took another sip, this one much longer.

"Maybe," she said thoughtfully, "I don't think my team would ever be strong enough to take on someone like that."

"You'd actually be surprised," Wallace said, "actually…" A swift knock rasped on the doorway, cutting Wallace off as they turned to see who it was.

"Ah, Phoebe," Drake greeted the other Elite, "what can I do for you?"

"I'm actually here for her," she said with a bright grin and pointed towards Lexi. She immediately noticed the small bottle tucked in her hand and felt her body relax slightly. Phoebe quick walked up and handed her the bottle and promptly left.

"What Wallace was trying to say was that it's not as bad as people think," Drake said as she poured out two small white pills and set the bottle back on the desk. She eyed her drink then the two pills in her hand.

"I don't think I should take pills and wash it down with alcohol," she said as Drake bent down again and pulled out a small bottle of water and handed it to her. She thanked him and popped the pills back and chased it down. She coughed slightly and sunk into her chair.

"You're welcome to stay here for the night," Drake offered, "it's a long flight to Rustboro."

"I might take you up on that," she replied, "I don't think my Pidgeot can make the full flight with me just yet." Drake nodded and stood. As he walked around his desk, Lexi stood and followed him, leaving Wallace sitting in his chair.

She followed Drake back down the hall and forced herself not to look back into where Steven was. She dug her nails back into her palms and focused solely on the slight pain and following Drake.

Eventually they stopped by what looked like a small guest office. It was a lot smaller than Drakes office, but it still had the massive oak desk and bookshelves along with a couch and leather chairs.

"It's the best we've got on such short notice," he apologized as he flipped on the lights, "We rarely have over night company."

"I'm used to sleeping on a couch anyway," she joked and chuckled dryly. As they walked in, Drake stepped over to a large closet and pulled out a pillow and blanket as Lexi carefully ran her fingers over couch. He sat them down on the armchair with a huff.

"If this isn't enough then there are some more in the closet," he said but Lexi didn't look back at him. She was quickly zoning out again.

"Have a goodnight, lass." He walked out and flipped the light off as he left.Her vision went dark, but she wasn't processing what she saw anymore. Her thoughts were running wild now that she was alone.

She dropped to her knees as hot tears roped from her eyes. She covered her mouth and doubled over. She just kept repeating to herself that he'd be fine. That the doctor said he would be fine.

 **"Doctors lie all the fucking time** " the voice in her mind lashed out, **"they said mom would be fine!"**

"They didn't know what happened to her," she pleaded aloud, "They couldn't have known…"

 **"And this is the exact same situation, isn't it?"** It hissed back, **"attacked to near death by a pokemon?"** Lexi choked as her eyes went wide in realization. This was the same. The exact same. Oh god please no…

He can't die. He can't…

Her leg was starting to burn again; it felt like someone had sat hot coal on her skin and she couldn't ignore it any longer. Her hand dropped down and she dug her nails into the flesh. All she could think about was when she first saw her mother laying in that hospital bed. How bloodied and beaten she looked. How her bright blue eyes became dull and lifeless and her skin became a sickly grey. Then she saw Steven laying there in her mothers place. Inches away from death and she was powerless to stop it. His eyes becoming that same glassy glaze that took her mother.

She slumped against the couch and squeezed her arms shut as tight as she could, but she could still see him laying there in that bed. Her chest tighter as if someone had rope around her heart and was hell bent on ripping it out of her chest. She opened her mouth to sob, but it never came.

 _ **Where is my family?**_

 _ **My eyes are so red I can't see…**_

 _ **Ive lost my mother…**_

 _ **Somewhere in my memory…**_

And then the pain was gone, like what she had just sang had cut the rope tied to her heart. The soft words seemed to echo in the room as Lexi slowly pried her eyes open. It was like the air had become still and the words and her mind stopped racing. Her leg still burned, but she pried her nails off. The sickening scent of metallic copper hit her nose and her fingers felt slick.

She slumped against the couch once more, suddenly exhausted. Her breathing was deep and her mind was blank. Her body felt heavy as a stone and begged her to close her eyes. She simply climbed onto the couch and fell asleep by herself for the first time in what felt like months.

 **AN: am I an ass? I feel like an ass. Oh well.**

 **So Lexi finally meets the Elite Four or at least Drake and Phoebe, but hey it's a start. Too bad she doesn't know that they're apart of the Elite Four. A big ol Salamance almost killed steven but he's fine. Probably…**

 **Anywho, the song that she sings a bit of is called Until I'm Home by Westward the tide. It's actually a duet piece and I changed one word to mother instead of brother because it fit better for me. As for updates in really sorry that I take so long on these but it is summer time and I'm lazy af during it but hey at least you're not readers from my old account where the last story was updated about three years ago :) I'm also having surgery in a week and I might write something while I'm doped up on pain killer just to see how it turns out.**

 **Remember to review and favorite cause that always helps a girl get more chapters out and don't forget to say hello to your local birb for me :)**


	13. Morphine

His head was swimming as he was pulled from the comfort of the darkness. His body ached almost everywhere, but he could feel a painful pulsing in his arm. Steven lazily forced his eyes open and the faint light from the window made his head ache.

He was in his office. A make shift bed was made so the doctors could work, but this was definitely his office. Medical trays were sat on a nearby table and were full of different pieces of equipment and a bucket full of bloodied rags and wraps.

That would explain why his head swam and the light hurt; he'd lost a lot of blood.

"Morning," a soft voice said. Steven looked and saw Wallace sitting on the couch scrolling through his Pokedex. Wallace looked up and met his gaze and Steven could see the bags under his eyes, "how do you feel?"

Steven opened his mouth to speak, but only managed a dried rasp. He tried again and got the same result. Wallace sat his Pokedex down and held a glass of water up to Stevens lips. He drank it eagerly, just now noticing how thirsty he was.

"Easy, you'll make yourself sick," he said as he pulled the cup away and sat it down on a nearby table, "better?"

"Better.," Steven whispered but his voice was still rough and gravely, "What happened?"

"We brought you back here," Wallace answered simply, "the doctor said that you wouldn't have any permanent damage aside from some scars. They've put you on a stead supply of pain killers until you get a bit better." Steven nodded slowly and felt his skin protest to the sudden tightness. He could feel the stitches under the wrappings and sheets.

"Where is everyone?" He croaked out.

"Home," Wallace answered simply, "it's still early in the morning, but me and Lexi stayed over night." Steven closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Oh course Wallace would tell her what had happened and bring her here. Shes probably worried sick about whatever the hell happened.

"Have you slept yet?" Steven asked and was answered by stern silence, "Wallace…"

"Drake wanted to make sure you'd be fine through the night so I volunteered to keep watch for the night," he said quickly, "I'm not busy today anyway so I don't need the sleep as much as everyone else does." A sharp pain shot up his arm as he tried to sit up. A heart monitor sped up rapidly as the IV bag increased its drip of pain medicine and Steven was back to the strange floating state as before; like he was floating in a pool.

"Must've been bad then," He mumbled as his arms and legs gradually grew heavier and heavier. He rolled his head towards Wallace, but he was gone. Steven lazily looked around for him and found him with his back turned towards him near the doorway. His body protested any kind of movement as did his voice, but he was vaguely aware of someone talking to Wallace just in front of him so Steven couldn't see them clearly. Steven blinked and suddenly Wallace and the other person were gone and he was left alone, or so he thought.

"Are you feeling okay?" A soft voice asked to his left. He lazily turned his head and saw a woman curled up in one of the chairs with a few books in her lap. Curled brown hair was up in a messy bun and she wore a black one shoulder shirt and jeans. Steven scrunched his face in confusion.

"Who are you?" He slurred out but his voice sounded distant and soft. The woman smiled softly and her solum eyes light up slightly.

"Who do you think I am?" She asked with a smile. There was something so familiar, but all he could think of was warmth of sand on the beach and the smell of the ocean breeze. He had no idea who she was, but he had to answer something…

"I think…" he started, "that…you're the most beautiful person I've ever seen…" her smile dropped and her cheeks flushed bright red. Steven frowned, had he said something wrong?

"Morphine is a hell of a pain killer," she said after a few moments with a nervous chuckle.

"You don't believe me??" Steven slurred out once more just a bit louder, "but…it's true!" The woman just looked at him as his eyes fluttered shut for a moment.

"There's a good friend of mine that…and she's been through a lot? But she's really pretty, but I think you're even prettier than her…" he slurred out again and finally fully closed his eyes, "and she's super kind and sweet and…"

"Steven." Steven opened his eyes again and looked at the woman who had a light flush in her cheeks, "Get some sleep, okay?" Steven nodded wordlessly and only answered with a soft grunt as he drifted off.

 _It just the Morphine. He doesn't even know who I am._ Lexi silently watched as his heart rate slowly dropped showing that he had fallen asleep. Her own heart pounded in her chest so fast she thought it might burst. She kept telling herself that it was just the Morphine talking and that he'd come to his senses when he was less high off pain killers, but deep in her chest her heart leaped and danced in joy.

She tried to distract herself with the few books she'd found the Drake's Study, but couldn't focus on a single word.

 **AN: this chapter was pure fluff and I'll give you a hint why, I'm currently high as a kite on my own pain meds from my wisdom tooth surgery and man I feel really good. Anyway this was a small little thing to add to the drama because drama like this makes me really happy.**

 **Remember to review and favorite and all that jazz and special shout out to SpicyxCharizard for once again pointing out a few mistakes from the past few chapters. You're the real MVP for this story man :P**


	14. Rain and reveal

It took a full three days for Steven to get back on his feet again. He was gradually pulled off pain killers and had a white cast placed around his broken arm which the doctors said could take a few months to heal. If you didn't notice the cast and a few stitching sand wrapping on his arms and legs, you'd think he wouldn't have just come with in a hairs breath of death just a few days before.

Wallace had taken Lexi back to Rustboro to retrieve her team and a small stash of clothes. She was given permission to stay in Ever Grande City until Steven was back on his feet, but after the slurred and almost drunken words that Steven had said the morning after the attack, Lexi was almost afraid to be near him. She often kept her distance when he was awake and only went into his room when Wallace or someone else was in the room. She didn't think the words would have such an impact, but they did.

Now, they all sat in together in one large room. Steven sat at the head of the table with two Elites sitting on either side. Lexi sat beside Wallace, knowing that this conversation was for experienced trainers only. She was lucky they hadn't kicked her out now that Steven was on his feet again, but they all seemed quite nice; at least three of them did. She stayed zoned out for most of the conversation, but one thing pricked her interest.

"A Salamance attacked you?" Sidney said, "but those aren't native to Hoenn, are they?"

"It's rare, but some do make it," Sidney answered, "but I've never heard of a dark skinned one and one that large too…"

"It just shot Skarmory and I out of the sky," Steven continued, "and once it got Skarmory out of the way it went straight for me like I was its main target."

"A pokemon attacking a human?" Glacia said, "I've never heard of such a thing…" Lexi thought for a moment. She'd never heard about any other attack than when her mother was attacked and that's why she was always so put off about how dangerous pokemon actually were. Clear if this was a bigger deal then they would be some kind of safety measures in places wouldn't there?

"Something to share?" Phoebe asked and it took Lexi a moment to realize that she was asking her. Everyone's eyes were on her and she felt heat creep up her spine.

"My mother was attack by a pokemon when I was really little, but I can't remember what type she described if she even told us at all," she replied, "no official attacker was ever found but there were so severely injuries and a few dead pokemon where she was attacked so a rouge pokemon was the main suspect ." She shrugged slightly and tried to remember anything about the report or anything her mother may have told her before she lost her voice.

"How bad we're her injuries?" Glacia asked.

"Broken bones and massive gashes," Lexi answered, "she lost the ability to speak and walk after the attack too, but I can't really remember the details. I was about 7 or 8 at the time."

"This could be the same pokemon," Sidney suggested.

"Then why hasn't there been any reports of any other attacks?" Lexi added, "if this was a common thing then people would know about it and be wary."

"I could be something genetic," Wallace chimed in, "someone could even be controlling them and forcing them to attack."

"That seems like the only likely reason," Phoebe said with a small nod. Lexi leaned back with a sigh and glanced over at Steven who look less than convinced, but she wouldn't push.

"We need to go out a look for this beast," Drake finally said, "it could cause more harm if someone doesn't find it or it's master."

"You'll need me with you," Lexi said, "Wen I see the Salamance it might jog my memory and maybe…"

"You're not going," a stern voice said. Everyone turned and looked at Steven who was staring at the table, "We can't risk an inexperienced trainer going up against a beast like this if we find it." Steven glanced over at Lexi and they locked eyes. She knew that there was something else that he wasn't saying and she wanted to call him out for it. She simply narrowed her eyes as the air grew thick with tension.

"He's right," Phoebe finally said, "I'm sure you're a wonderful trainer, but it's just too risky. Wallace can come with us while you and Steven stay here." Steven looked taken back for a moment, "you may be the best trainer in the region, but you're way too hurt to come." Steven stayed silent and only responded with a nod. Lexi grinned to herself.

An hour later and everyone had flown off to search leaving Lexi and Steven in Ever Grande. Lexi busied herself by researching about her mothers attack while Steven dozed off near by. She also released Silas and Riley and the two climbed onto the couch beside her.

She scrolled through the dozens of articles from at least two different regions including Kalos, but each one said the same thing, Kalos woman attacked near death and left mute and paralyzed! Attacker unknown! It made her stomach twist seeing the different pictures of the attack sight and the ones of her mother laying in a hospital bed made her heart ache. She may have been young at the time, but she still remembered walking in and seeing her mother laying in ICU clear as day. The various tubes and wires keeping her alive and as comfortable as they could, the rhythmic beeping of different monitors, and the clean sterile smell of a hospital.

Silas grunted and layed his head on her leg either out for comfort or for attention. Lexi looked down and saw his big brown eyes looking up at her solemnly as she scratched him behind the ear. The building shook faintly from an incoming storm but she didn't pay any mind, until she heard a small squeak and the sound of small feet running on the hard wood floor. Silas lifted his head and they watched as a small steel plated pokemon came running from a small hole in the floor. It dashed around for a few minutes before skidding to a stop and looking up at her with big blue eyes. Silas snorted and the pokemon squeaked once more and tilted its head before dashing off again.

"Over here Aron," Steven said and dropped his good hand down to the ground. Aron immediately ran over and curled itself in his hand and started shaking. Lexi smiled faintly.

"Team member?" She asked still looking at the small pokemon who had its eyes squeezed shut.

"He never really liked battling or being in a pokeball so not really," Steven replied as his fingers carefully stroked a section of skin not covered by steel , "I let him wonder around Ever Grande and take him with me when I go to different caves." Thunder rumbled once more and the little Aron's eyes snapped open for a few moments before it closed them once more and started trembling.

"Doesn't like storms too much?" She asked and Steven nodded his head.

"Scared to death of them," he said as he bent over picked Aron up with a slight grunt, "he's a little runt so he's a lot smaller than usual, but he's still heavy." Aron squeaked once more and burred itself under the blankets at Stevens side. Steven simply placed a hand on the small lump and closed his eyes. Lexi focused back on her research as best she could.

She gave up after half an hour. The deeper she dug, the vaguer and incorrect the information became. This would have been so much easier if she had a better relationship with her parents, if they were even still alive…

 **CRASH**

Lexi shot up and Silas and Riley jumped off the couch in full alert. Her heart pounded in her chest as she heard the sound of glass breaking. Silas was knelt down low while Riley kept her ears tuned.

"What the hell was that?" She heard Steven whisper. She looked back and saw him climbing out of the bed leaving Aron.

 **BANG BANG CRASH**

No one moved a muscle. The noise and whatever was making it was much closer now. Then the floor started shaking very softly. Silas slowly padded backwards and Riley stood just in front of her.

A sharp piercing scream ripped through the air and Lexi ran to the door with Silas and Riley not far behind. They twisted through the hallway until she skidded to a stop after turning a corner.

A woman, a young trainer, was pinned down on the floor. Holding her down was a massive black Salamance.

Lexi stared in shock at the beast who was directly in the woman's face staring her down. Blood dripped from its slightly ajar mouth and onto the woman's terrified face. She needed to do something or else the trainer would be killed.

"HEY!" Lexi shouted at the top of her lungs. The Salamances head snapped towards her and snarled low. Silas stepped up and snarled back, full prepared to attack.

"Silas, go back to Steven." She said not breaking eye contact with the beast, "he's here for Steven. We have to keep him safe." Silas snorted and ran back the direction they came. The beast snarled once more and Lexi heard a mass of voices speak in her mind.

 _"Are you the prized prey I've been hunting for?"_ It growled out but Lexi stood her ground.

"Maybe," she said, "but you don't have to kill me. You don't have to listen to your master." It's eyes went wide and it charged towards her with a thunderous roar. Lexi took off back down the hallway as fast as her legs could carry her. She made sharp turns away from where she knew Steven and Silas was and turned left into a T intersection. If she could lead the beast outside then maybe the others would be back by now and help capture this thing.

Something hit her hard on her back and she was sent flying through a half opened window. Her body collided painfully with the wooden support, but she had enough forces to break the window and tumble out into the storm.

Everything was black for a moment. She could feel the rain pelt her skin and drench her clothes as she shakily stood up. The Salamance busted its way through the window and stood just a ways away. It panted slightly as the voices spoke again.

 _"Your kind always were peaceful cowards!"_ It barked and then the beast laughed, _"I take great joy in spilling your blood…"_

"You don't have to attack me!" She shouted over the thundering rain, "please stop!"

 _"Even when forced into battle you beg for mercy,"_ it cooed, _"the last one was the same way. Pretty brown hair, typical blue eyes. Never hunted in Kalos before."_ Lexi stopped and realization hit her like brick. Suddenly she was tossed down and the beast pinned her to the ground. It's face stared her down and she wanted to look away, but it's yellow eyes seemed to keep her from looking away.

 _"Enough talk!"_ It barked, _"Let's get this over with…"_ Suddenly, the beast eyes faded to a pitch black and her body went limp. She tried to move in anyway, to run and get away, but it was like her body wasn't hers anymore. The voices were back but we're all saying something different; she couldn't understand. She wanted to close her eyes, but she was frozen.

 _"What?!?"_ The beast reeled back, _"it's not you!?!"_ Then the beast was pulled from her with a thunderous roar and she was left gasping for air. She sat up and saw that Silas had bitten down and tossed the beast away from here. Even in the pouring rain, his mane glowed bright. Brighter than it ever had before. She carefully got to her feet as Silas roared a challenge to the Salamance who was dusting bits of leaves and branches from its body.

 _"Where is she!?!"_ _It roared._

"I don't…" Lexi steadied herself on Silas. She felt so weak all of the sudden. This was the pokemon that destroyed her mother. It took away her mother and now she was about to follow the same path.

Silas leapt forward and the Salamance followed. The pair fought tooth and nail with the Salamance having the upper hand, until Riley joined the fight. The combined fighting was enough to just match the Salamances strength, but it wouldn't last long. They needed to get out of here and fast. She could see a faint outline near what was once a window. Maybe it was another trainer and maybe they were just too shocked by the battle to send out there own team. When lighting struck the sky, she could briefly see silver hair and she cursed aloud. Steven was watching the battle from a reasonable distance, but he couldn't do anything. Lexi didn't want him anywhere near this battle or the Salamance.

Lexi stumbled against the heat and force of the attacks until the Salamance backed up and hit her with its massive tail and sent her tumbling across the grass once more, only this time she rolled right off the cliff face. She clawed desperately at the mud and grass root for anything to hold onto, but everything was too slick with rain and she went tumbling off the edge.

She knew she wouldn't make with this one. She was lucky enough to survive her first fall into the ocean. She didn't even know if there was even water to somewhat break her fall this time, but as she finally fell and lightning lit the almost claw like marks she had left in the mud, she couldn't help but be afraid. Whatever the Salamance had done to her left her exhausted more than she had ever been in her life, but a part of her wanted to claw, kick, and fight. She had found her mothers killer and she was pissed but it was too late to do anything now.

Her body suddenly jerked sharply and she felt herself change direction. Something had a hold of her arms and when she looked up, she saw the faint outline of Latias.

 _"Pull yourself onto my back,"_ the legendary echoed in her mind. Lexi used every ounce of strength she had left and hoisted herself onto Latias's back. It was then that she spied another outline speeding alongside them.

"That Salamance…we need to…" she tried to speak, but it felt like her body was shutting down.

 _"We know,_ " another voice echoed but this sounded much different than Latias, _"he's the reason we're here."_

"It's the same…one that…killed mom…" she breathed out and collapsed onto Latias's, "and almost…Steven." A small green light appeared on Latios's forehead and the air around her felt light and she felt her strength return but only by a little. She held on tightly as the pair circled around and Lexi saw Silas and Riley still holding strong against the Salamance. A massive beam formed itself at the pairs mouth before firing and blasting apart the fight. The Salamance immediately fired back, but Larios broke away as Latias landed down by Silas and Riley. Lexi fell off Latias's back, but someone caught her.

"I've got you. I've got you," she heard Steven said as she tried to stand, but her legs were still too weak. Steven was the only thing holding her up.

"It's the same one…" she muttered, "Steven, that's the pokemon that killed mom…" Silas and Riley sprung back into the fight when she said this as Steven pulled them back away from the fight.

"Where does it hurt?" He asked frantically searching her body for any sign of damage. She would have thought it was sweet if she could focus on anything but breathing.

"I'm just…so tired…" she said and her eyes fluttered slightly. Steven shook her.

"Hey, stay awake. Don't go to sleep." She could have sworn that he was crying, but rain and tears often look the same. That and she couldn't see very well in the dark. Her hands fumbled at his side before finding his own hand. He squeezed hard.

She lazily looked down as lightning lit the sky. Her hand was so small compared to his. The ring he wore was easily the size of her knuckle. Her hands were filthy and covered in mud, and his were so soft and clean.

"The first time I fell I was ready to die," she said as she played with one of his fingers, "I accepted that I was going to die and I was even a little happy about it…" her eyes wondered over to the battle happening 50 feet away. They way Latios and Latias gracefully battled and how hard her own team fought.

"But I was scared this time…" she said returning her look back to their hands, "I've got people to lose now…"

"Wallace and the professor," he started.

"No…" she said and curled her hand slightly, "they weren't the ones I would be sad about…" her eyes switched to his face. He didn't notice and kept switching between their hands and the battle, watching and waiting to make sure that if he needed to move that he could.

"Me too," he said softly and gently squeezed her hand again. He looked down at her and gave a the faintest trace of a smile. An understanding passed between their look. Unspoken words long overdo. Lexi smiled faintly and succumbed to the dark feeling in her body as she felt a soft kiss on her forehead.

 **AN: Another kind of cheesy/corny chapter that actually turned out pretty good I feel. I think I was able to catch a few minor spelling and grammatical errors, but again, I am not perfect but you know what is?**

 **These fucking two**

 **Y'all these two are gonna be the death of me I swear and this is just the beginning. I have some pretty big plans for my bean but you'll just have to wait and see what I put her through.**

 **I'm on a bit of a writing kick for these guys so updates will be pretty often which makes up for the fact that I sometimes leave this story on the back burner for a month and a half and btw that end scene with Steven and Lexi is extra painful if you listen to Marco's theme from Attack on Titan cause that's somewhat of the vibe I was going for.**

 **Anyway enough jabber(wocky). You lot know the drill and reviews are always always ALWAYS welcome in this house**


	15. I can't

It was a sight to see when the group came back. The front door of the building was smashed to pieces and there were deep jagged claw marks on the floor. Various windows were smashed and shattered glass was everywhere, but the most startling thing was the Eon twins sat in the same room as Steven and Lexi along with Silas and Riley. All four Pokemon were covered in various gashes and cuts and Lexi was unconscious on the couch with Steven by her side.

He told them everything. The Salamance and how Lexi tried to lead it away from Steven and another trainer and how Latios and Latias came into the picture. After the Salamance was driven away, the twins refused to leave their side and even helped get Lexi back into the building. They hadn't left the room since and Lexi still hadn't shown any sign of waking up, but she didn't show injuries besides sudden exhaustion. It was thanks to her that no one was seriously hurt or killed.

Silas and Riley stayed close by and moved between her and the Eon twins. Steven could only guess they were communicating in some way and he wanted to know what they could be saying, but it was a mystery that no one was able to crack.

" _Thank you for saving her."_ Silas sat as formally as possible and Riley followed, _"we have known her for many years and she has saved us countless times."_ Latios ran a stern look over him as Latias nodded.

" _You speak the language of legends?"_ She asked with slight surprise. Silas flicked his tail.

" _A trait we were born with,"_ Riley answered.

" _You're both orphans."_ Latios stated and Silas bowed his head slightly, _"A Pyroar of your color would have been killed immediately by its pride and a female Riolu would have been killed by the father."_

" _Our rarity and color harm us with our own kind, but help us with humans,"_ Silas said, " _We are protected by them because of it."_

" _That is why you risked your life for her?"_ Latias nodded towards Lexi, _"she protects you?"_

" _Others, as well,"_ Silas replied, _"it was why she risked her life to lead the Salamance away."_

" _Hunters…"_ Latios muttered darkly, _"it has no reason in Hoenn. A keeper hasn't been here for many years…"_

" _That is what we are here to know,"_ Latias said to Silas and Riley, _"your trainer also understands our language which is a trait only shared by Keepers. With a Keepers help, we could drive away the groups harming this land."_

" _But if the hunters find the Keeper before we do then the entirety of Hoenn is in danger…"_

She always associated darkness with a feeling of cold dread and bleakness, but this darkness was warm. Like those days between the changing seasons back in Kalos; Winter to Spring. She simply floated in the dark, but the longer she did the more she became aware of the familiar feeling crawling up her spine. Someone was in here with her, or at least it felt like it.

" **I'm impressed,"** a dark voice whispered. Lexi sat up and twisted herself around to try and find the source, **"not many people are so willing to throw their lives away."** Lexi pushed the voice aside and tried to go back to basking in the odd warmth.

" **You know that they aren't done yet, don't you?"** The voice cooed again and cold fingers carefully traced up her back and around her neck, **"now they have an inside man…"**

"And if I ignore you then you'll eventually lose interest and leave," she said calmly, "the cat gets bored with the mouse doesn't play ya know."

" **I'm looking out for you here."** A force spun her around and she came face to face with a shadowed human figure floating in the dark, **"if you die, I die."**

"Then let's keep our relationship at that," she said. Red eyes glinted back, "don't interfere with me and you can stay here as long as you want."

" **That was the plan from the start."** Sickly white teeth appeared near what she thought was a mouth before the being sulked away, **"Have a nice time out there."**

Suddenly, her eyes were back open and she was lying on the couch in Steven's room. She simply laid there, lazily staring at the wall and wanting to go back to sleep. She was still so tired…

"Hey," a voice said softly as Lexi closed her eyes once more. She didn't need to look to see who it was, she knew the voice well enough.

"Hey." Her voice was heavy and laced with sleep. "What happened?"

"They drove the Salamance off and everyone came back a few minutes after," he said and she felt something warm carefully hold her hand, "the trainer from the hallway is fine too, just a few bumps and bruises." She nodded her head slightly, and gently squeezed his hand.

"The Pokemon?" She asked softly.

"Everyone's fine," he assured her, "thanks to you no one was killed."

"Good." Her tongue clicked dryly against her gums as she tried to settle back into sleep. Part of her was afraid if she closed her eyes then she wouldn't wake up again, but based on how Steven was casually talking to her she must not be seriously hurt.

" _Can you hear me?"_ A soft female voice asked, and Lexi recognized the voice right away

"Latias…" Lexi muttered softly. Steven glanced over to the Eon Twin but found the pair walking towards them.

" _How are you feeling?"_ She echoed softly and Lexi relaxed slightly.

"Exhausted and even more exhausted," she answered aloud, "who would have thought that doing nothing in a fight would make you this tired."

" _This battle was different,"_ she said, _"that is why we stayed until you were awake."_

"And here I thought that you came just to make sure I was okay…" she muttered with a small chuckle. Steven just sat back and was somewhat amazed. He couldn't hear either Pokemon making a sound, but Lexi was answering them as if they were asking questions.

" _We need to know what that Salamance did to you,"_ a sterner voice demanded, _"what it wanted with someone like you."_

"I don't know," she mumbled with half opened eyes, "but…I think…" she shook her head and scrunched her face in pain. It made her head ache when she tried to remember what the beast said to her, but she could remember, but it was like she couldn't speak what he said.

"It was him…" she strangled out and squeezed her eyes tight, "He was the one that attacked my mother…"

" _Where did he attack her?"_ Latios asked, but she didn't want to answer. All she could see was her mothers mangled body in the woods after the attack. Her in the hospital, and then her body in her house with the knife lodged in her stomach.

"I…can't…" she shook her head as hot tears fell. She chocked out a sob as Steven spoke up.

"I don't understand what is being asked or said, but can it please be done later?" he asked the twins, "She needs time to recover and gather herself." Lexi was too busy trying to calm herself down to hear the response, but she heard the door click shut a few moments later. She sobbed slightly louder and tried to curl into the couch away from whoever was left in the room.

"Hey, hey," Steven said softly as he sat on the floor in front of her. It broke his heart to see her like this, and he wanted to do anything he could to calm her down.

"It's going to happen again, isn't it?" she wept after a few minutes. She rolled over to face him, and her eyes were bloodshot, and her face was red from crying.

"What is?" Steven asked quietly as he took her hand in his, and began rubbing small circles with his thumb to try and calm her down.

"That Salamance is going to take away everything like he did before," she said, her voice matching his, "Everything I care about…"

"Not if I have a say in any of it," he whispered as he leaned his head against the armrest of the couch. She looked at him sadly, and he saw a look in her eyes that he had yet to see from her before; Venerability. It was almost as if no one had ever defended her from something before, and she didn't know how to react.

"You're not immortal, Steven," she said softly, "It almost killed you once, and it came back to finish you off. If I hadn't been here…" More tears rolled down her face, and she tried to turn her face away once more, but Steven caught her cheek.

"But you were," he said softly, and felt his throat tighten up, "And that's the second time you've had to save my skin since I've known you." He gave her the warmest smile he could muster and felt pure relief when she faintly smiled back as she leaned into his hand.

"I can't…" she started, but it was like her words froze in midair and fell from her mouth. Steven didn't say anything and simply waited. She simply shook her head as more tears fell before she leaned into his touch and was asleep within moments. He could guess what she was going to say all night if he wanted, but his mind finished the sentence with what he would have said.

I can't lose you…

During the fight with the Salamance when he followed Silas outside and saw her standing out in the pouring rain, dazed and confused, he was terrified for her. He watched her stumble against the power of the attacks, and there was nothing he could do to help her; nothing at all. When the Salamance hit her with its massive tail and sent her flying across the ground and over the cliff he thought his heart had completely stopped. It felt like hours passed as he climbed down from the broken window and over to the cliff before she shot up on the back of Latias. Every part of him was terrified as he held onto her and gripped her hand; he was prepared to jump up and carry her as best he could to get her away from the fight.

I'm not going to lose her…

I'm not going to lose her…

I can't lose her…

I can't…

Drake hadn't realized that either Lexi or Steven had fallen asleep when he walked in, and he was mildly surprised to see Steven, normally prim and proper, sitting on the floor in front of Lexi with his hand intertwined with hers. The old sailor gave a quiet chuckle before he heard a quiet gasp behind him. When he turned around, Phoebe, Glacia, Sidney, and Wallace all crowded around the doorway. Sidney looked quite dumbfounded, while Wallace and Phoebe looked ready to scream. Glacia looked surprised to see the Hoenn Champion in such an informal position. Drake quickly shooed them away and shut the door and was immediately bombarded with questions, mostly from Phoebe and Sidney.

"We do NOT tell him that we saw this," Drake said, "Are we clear?"

"Oh my God this is the cutest thing I have ever seen either of them do," Wallace said as he peered through the window on the door, "I mean, I had a pretty good feeling that Steven had feelings for her, but still."

"And this is the same girl that just saved his ass less than 4 hours ago?" Sidney asked, "I guess he's got a soft spot for the tough girls."

"Just go back to your offices, and don't speak a word of this to anyone," Drake repeated. The group reluctantly broke up as Drake checked in on the room one last time.

Lexi seemed to be awake now as she twisted the silver ring on Stevens' hand. Drake couldn't tell if her eyes were open, but he knew she was awake when she curled closer towards Steven and held his hand closer. Now Drake had to admit, that was one of the cutest things he had ever seen.

 **AN: *The Bitch Came Back plays softly in the background* Of course I've done my writing! Like a third of this was written a day after I published the last chapter and then I just…died?**

 **Anywho, I am Back! And this is pure fluff and it is supposed to be! Thank you guys for being so very very patient with me about updates for this story cause shits been crazy for me on my end, but I am hopefully back for a decent while now. Thank you, to one the mystery guest known only as the Ripple for the review that kind of gave me a spur in the ass to finish this chapter out.**


	16. No one's ever looked at me that way

"We've already sent word to the gym leaders to be on alert for anything strange in their areas, and we've told them to tell any passing trainers to stay in town until its safe to travel again," Sidney reported as Steven leafed through the latest report, "But so far, no one's seen any sign of it."

"It's probably hiding somewhere and trying to recover from its wounds," Steven mused, "I can't imagine it faired too well in a four on one battle." Plus the stab wound Steven gave it with Lexi's pocket knife and the battle with Metagross, it would be a miracle if the beast survived more than a week.

"Maybe it fell into the sea and drowned?" Sidney suggested hopefully. There was always a hope for that, but Steven knew there was no way they could be that lucky.

"Maybe…" he said as he straightened the papers back into the file and leaned back in his chair with a sigh, "Thanks for the report, Sidney."

"Anytime, Boss. Hey, and um…" the other man rubbed the back of his neck and Steven raised an eyebrow, "How's that girl doin'? Lexi?"

"She's fine," he answered cautiously, "A bit tired from the battle still, but she's fine. Why?" Sidney shrugged and tossed his head.

"We were all just worried about her last night and we didn't want to bother the two of you last night so…" Sidney trailed off as Steven narrowed his eyes with a small smirk and shake of his head.

"You know," he said and Sidney looked up expectantly, "You're the third person to ask how she's doing since I've been up less than an hour ago?"

"Oh…Well."

"If you want to know how she's doing so badly, then go ask her yourself," Steven stood and crossed over to her window and nodded outside, "She's just outside with her team. She doesn't bite too hard, Sidney."

"Ok, Ok I get it, Boss," Sidney finally said with a sigh, "We all wanted to make sure she was ok cause she seems real important to you, that's all." Sidney didn't look up from the ground as Steven looked out the window to where she was lounging under a tree with a book in hand. When he woke up this morning, Lexi was curled as close to him as she could get, almost to the point where she nearly fell on the floor when she woke up. Last nights conversation swirled in his head and made his heart swell.

"Thank you for your concern, Sidney." Steven finally said as he continued looking out the window, "But, I can promise that whatever happens Lexi will be more than capable to handle whatever gets thrown her way." He turned to look back at the Elite who just stared at him somewhat dumbfounded as if he just told him the sky was green. He shook he head with a chuckle as he turned to look back out the window and waited for him to leave. After a few moments, he heard the door close with a soft click and Steven sighed softly.

Sidney couldn't have hit the nail on the head any better. She was incredibly important to him to a point where if someone gave him the choice between remaining Champion or staying with her, he'd chose her in a heartbeat.

He scoffed aloud and shook his head. Listen to him; he sounded like a love-sick fool. Drop everything he had worked so hard for just for one girl, one girl that he known less than a year. It sounded like one of those cheesy chick flick movies advertised on TV with a new one out every two months. He could make up one right now: he'd walk out there right now and confess his love to her in which she would return, they would kiss before realizing they couldn't be together because of Steven's life, before Steven suggested they run away together, forget the League and Devon; Team Magma and Aqua. They'd have a nice home far away from this mess and only hear about it in the news at breakfast.

"Listen to yourself," he said sternly, "Imagine if Father heard you right now, or mother…" It would always be a nice thought; running away from responsibility and never turning back with the person you cared about at your side, but this wasn't a fairytale. Responsibility follows you like a shadow and never leaves you no matter how hard you try.

Steven crossed back to his desk as Lexi leaned back against Silas with a book in her lap. He roared softly and rubbed her side with his head as his eyes settled on the book.

"A bunch of notes about Team Magma and Aqua," she answered his silent question, "Phoebe gave it to me and said it would be best if I got to know the groups as best I could," Silas grunted softly.

"They think we could help in this fight, but I don't know…" she mused as she flipped the pages, "We aren't Elites we're a ragtag team of misfits with nowhere to go." She closed the book and flopped back against the Pyroar with a heavy sigh. Silas snorted and licked her hand.

"Maybe that is our purpose, bud." She said as she rolled her head and locked eyes with the Pyroar, "Go nowhere and be nothing…"

 _"You seem very certain of that,"_ a calm voice said. Lexi sat up and found Latias perched a few feet away from her just outside the shade of the tree.

"It's all I seem to be finding out lately," Lexi replied as Silas stood from beneath her and then sat facing Latias.

 _"New information is always found sooner or later,"_ she said with a slight ruffle of her wings, " _I am glad to see that you are doing better from last night."_

"I guess I just needed a good nights sleep," she said and bit her lips when she vaguely remembered waking up and curling closer to Steven for…Protection? Comfort? She didn't really know, "I'm guessing you're here to get some information out of me about that Salamance?"

 _"I won't do anything to force it out of you,"_ Latias said, _"My brother was too forceful last night, but if you wish to recall the details from the battle then I will be happy to listen."_ Lexi sighed deeply and looked down at the Megastone bracelet on her wrist. She carefully touched the rainbow gem as if she touched it too hard then it would shatter into a million pieces.

"That Salamance was the one that maimed my mother," she said with surprising clarity, "My mother took her own life not too long ago. She left me a letter and a bag of her stuff that explained a little bit, but not as much as would like."

 _"What did her letter say, if I may ask?"_

"She said that a Pokemon was forced to do what it did to her. A group controlling the Pokemon did it for punishment for my mother's actions against them," she tried to recall the letter as best she could, but she tried to block out a lot from that night, "She said that my father was made a slave to keep her alive as long as possible and I would have been too had it not been for my love of Pokemon." She bit the inside of her cheek as Silas padded over and looped her arm around his neck.

 _"I see,"_ Latias said after a quiet moment. She let her gather herself before she spoke again, _"What did the Salamance say to you when it attacked you?"_

"It asked if I was his prized prey and then he barged after me after I answered him," she said as she ran her fingers through Silas's mane, "He said something about my kind being peaceful cowards and apparently I wasn't what he wanted and demanded I tell him where she was. Whoever she is anyway."

 _"He must have been a young hunter,"_ she said, _"Or too preoccupied throwing taunts and threats to notice."_

"What do you mean?" she asked, but Latia's simple shook her head and walked closer towards her.

 _"Please ignore me,"_ she said, _"Do you mind coming with me somewhere? There is a place I would like to show you."_

"I can't just leave here without telling anyone they might think that Salamance came back and, I don't know, threw me off the cliff again or something," Silas snorted and began trotting towards the door.

 _"Of course,"_ she said with a slight nod, _"Please tell who you need to tell. I will be waiting here for your return."_ She jogged over to the door, but Silas had already managed to open it somehow as the pair walked inside. It was a no-brainer who she was going to tell; besides, if she just disappeared and no one knew where she went, he might have a heart attack about it and then she'd never hear the end of it.

She stopped at the large oak door and her stomach twisted into seventeen different knots. Silas snorted beside her and sat on the floor and tilted his head.

"Stay out here, bud," she said, "I won't be long I promise." He snorted again in response as she rasped on the door. She pushed it open as she heard a muffled reply. Steven sat hunched over at the desk and didn't look up as she walked in and shut the door behind her.

"Hey," she said softly. Steven glanced up and did a double take before he stood from his seat, "You don't have to stand for me I'm not the Queen."

"I just thought something was wrong," he said with a quick breath, "Are you ok?"

"Yeah I'm fine I'm just…leaving," she said and bit the inside of her cheek so hard she tasted blood. Steven looked confused and walked up to her.

"Leaving?" he asked, "What do you mean?"

"I'm coming back if that's what you're worried about," she teased and tried to lighten the mood. She got a small chuckle out of him as she licked her lips and looked down at her hands. God, why was this so hard?

"Latias wants to take me somewhere, and I figured someone wanted to know before I came up missing and worried everyone." She wrung her hands together, "I didn't want people to think that Salamance came back to finish what it started, ya know?" She actually got a quiet laugh out of him and when she looked up she saw a small smile on his face. A small gesture that sparked a fire a warmth in her chest that spread all the way to her toes. She didn't care that she was staring at him for what felt like an hour because he was staring right back at her with this softness in his eyes that she didn't think possible. She felt his fingers softly brush her hand and hook her fingers with his. It felt like electricity flowed through her hand as she bit her lower lip and finally looked away.

"I kept meaning to give you something, but I always…forget," he fished into his pocket and pulled out the star sapphire necklace that was wrapped in gold wire. Lexi looked at it in slight awe for a moment before she felt a blush paint her cheeks. Of course, that necklace was for her…

"Here," he said as he untangled the chain. Lexi turned around and held her hair up as he wrapped the chain around her neck and clasped it together. When she turned back around, the gemstone sat just below her collarbone and its signature star showed bright in the light of the office. It was perfect for her.

"Thank you," she said with a grateful smile that made her eyes light up. God, Steven could stand here and look at her all day and never get bored. He squeezed her hand and did something the nonlove struck him would have punched him for.

He leaned forward and kissed her tenderly on the forehead. She sank back, not expecting the gesture, but once she realized what he was doing she froze up. Her eyes widened slightly, and it felt like her heart was going to jump out of her throat. He pulled back and looked down her with a smile.

"Please be safe," he said. He gave her hand one last squeeze before he walked past her and out the door. She was left standing in the middle of the office quite dumbfounded at what just happened.

He _kissed_ her. It was on the forehead, but still. Friends don't just kiss each other on the forehead like he did. All the things he did for her weren't things a friend did for another out of friendship.

 _This wasn't just friendship anymore, was it?_

A strangled laugh broke from her throat and Lexi quickly covered her mouth. She turned and walked towards the door, thankful that she had something to take her mind off what just happened.

Miles away on a remote part of Mt. Chimney, a man paced back and forth at the lip of the volcano. Two others stood off to the side just as furious and frustrated but were too afraid to speak up.

"They said she was HERE!" the man roared as he bared his teeth, "I must have been close until that bastard woman stepped in!" He roared and swiped at a large boulder and it shattered into pieces.

"And those _twins_ …" he growled towards one of the men, "This isn't even their fight!"

"At least the Champion is taken out…"

"No," the leader growled as he pulled out the pocket knife and twisted the blade in his claws, "He made it out, barely, but he still lives."

"Then take him out and the Keeper sticks her head out from her hole," Eclipse growled, "and when she does, we chop it off."

"But if they follow the same path without fail then why don't we stop her before she even starts?" Jeb suggested, "Take out the gym leaders so she never reaches the Champion."

"Why not do both?" their leader mused as he looked down at the towns spotting across the island, "See which works better? Eclipse do your plan, Zeb do yours."

"What about you?" Zeb asked as the man looked down at the wooden handle of the pocket knife with a toothy smirk.

"I have some digging to do." He said simply. His claw traced the letters of the name carved into the handle with a grin, "Best get to it. We don't have a lot of time left anymore…"

Meanwhile, Latias landed on a craggy opening in a cliff face as Lexi slid off her back. She ran her fingers through her hair as the other nudged and pushed rocks away. They were up high, really high; it felt like she was standing on top of the world.

"We're close to Dewford Town, aren't we?" she asked as she moved away from the last of the rock revealing an entrance into a large cave. Lexi peered in and saw that it was the same cave her and Steven had been in a few weeks prior; the one with the cave paintings and massive tree surrounded by a small stream.

"I've been here before Latias," she said as she looked over at the Eon twin.

 _"When?"_ she asked with a slight tilt of her head.

"Like, less than three weeks ago I think," Lexi replied as she started climbed down the shallow slope, "I was here with Steven, and I…" She glanced up at the trees large branches and she swore she saw something watching her. She blinked, and it was gone, "…blacked out."

 _"Were you ok?"_

"Yeah, I was fine," she said as she stepped off the slope and onto the island. She felt weirdly comfortable being back even though she never felt comfortable in caves of any kind, but something felt off. She was chasing something just out of the corner of her eye, and she _swore_ that she heard what sounded like a choir singing in the wind, "I'm not going crazy am I?"

 _"What do you mean?"_ Lexi turned around, but Latias was just standing on the other side of the stream watching her. This wasn't fear just…confusion. What the hell was going on?

 _ **I crossed a clearing yesterday**_

 _ **Somewhere that I recognized**_

 _ **Counted all the paths along the way**_

Someone was singing. A man's voice was singing, and the words bounced across the cave wall right to her.

 _ **Further than I'd been before**_

 _ **Touched your hand but nothing more**_

 _ **No one's ever looked at me that way**_

 _ **No one's ever looked at me that way**_

 _ **No one's ever looked at me that way**_

She knew she had never heard this song before; it sounded like something from one would hear in an old dungeon, but, somehow, she…knew the words. It was like an old lullaby that she had been sung every day of her life.

 _ **Soon your touch will disappear**_

 _ **It's something that I recognize**_

 _ **Something that I should have come to fear**_

"Trace the lines upon your face," she sang, and it was as if the man was waiting for her to join in, "They tell a tale you can't erase. No one's ever looked at you that way." She looked back up at the tree and that's when she finally saw them; dozens of small dog-like Pokemon, smaller than her hand, watched her from the branches.

"No one's ever looked at you that way. No one's ever looked at you that way," she finished, and the singing started back up, but she found out that it was the Pokemon singing. The chorus of wolf-like howls echoed in the cave as they slowly descended the tree.

"Well if I could apologize," she continued as they slowly approached her, "Put the light back in your eyes; No one's ever looked at me that way." The room rang as she finished the last note. She slowly knelt down and extended her hand to the Pokemon before she noticed that each of them was missing their eyes. There was only an empty pit where there should have been eyes, but they didn't seem affected at all.

 _"I had a feeling that Hunter was wrong,"_ Latias said, and the Pokemon scurried back up the tree and disappeared from sight.

"Why did you bring me here?" Lexi asked as she looked to the cave walls, "What is this place?"

 _"This is a Monastery Chamber,"_ she answered simply as Lexi turned to her, _"And I brought you here to see if my suspicions were true."_

"Explain all of this," she demanded, "Now, Latias." Latias sighed as if she couldn't tell her the full truth yet; this only made Lexi madder than before.

"I was here less than a month ago so why didn't any of that happen then?!" she shouted as she pointed to the tree, "I was in this exact spot!"

 _"Something did happen, remember?"_ Latias said calmly. Lexi huffed and started pacing back and forth as the Legendary continued, " _This place was where a Keeper could come and be safe from the beings that hunted them outside."_

"What the hell is a Keeper?" She asked roughly

 _"A person tasked with the protection of beings like myself and my brother. One for every region before they started getting killed off one by one,"_

"What does this have to do with me? Or those things in the tree?"

 _"They are called Monastery Dogs. They live in the Keeper's Monastery and create songs that the Keepers then use to sooth beings like me. I do not know what they look like, I left the cave as soon as I noticed something was happening,"_

"And Monastery Dogs…" she said as she stopped her pacing and looked at Latias who just stared silently back, "No, that can't be."

 _"You can also speak the Language of the Legends, which means you can hear and understand us. Last night when we were speaking, Steven Stone could not understand like you could. Ask him if you do not believe me."_

"I believe you," she said as she ran a hand through her hair, "How could I be someone important enough to protect someone like you or your brother? You had to protect me last night!"

 _"You're still an inexperienced trainer. Keepers often stayed at the level of the Champions for their whole lives,"_

"And the others of your kind? Kyogre and Groudon?"

 _"Real beings under a very real threat I'm afraid,"_ Latias said sadly, _"If we are too late, then a massive battle will ensue that I'm not even sure a fully trained Keeper could handle."_

"I'm glad to see the faith, Latias," Latias watched her for a moment before she adjusted her wings

 _"If it will help with the coming battles, I will pledge my service to you,"_ she bowed her head slightly and Lexi shook her head.

"Latias, I'm not putting you in a Pokeball." She said, but she didn't move and stood as still as stone. She heard a faint chorus startup behind her, different from before; lighter and more upbeat.

"You're just so simple and sweet…" she sang slightly. She pulled out an empty Pokeball and captured Latias within. She could have released the Legendary and flown straight back to Ever Grande, but she didn't want to. She'd rather take the long way, and she wanted the comfort of an actual bed after spending five days sleeping on a couch. She'd just send a message to Steven and tell him once she got to Rustboro.

She didn't make it to the city until way past sunset, but she really didn't care anymore. The receptionist waved her past but was too busy talking on the phone to actually look her way. She didn't realize that her feet had carried her to Steven's room until she opened the door and saw the row of sparkling gems shining in the moonlight. She fell onto his bed and took off only her shoes as she curled into the sheets.

 _It smells like him_ she thought as she buried her face in the sheets. Faint colon, but mostly it smelled like the earth and the cold. Her sense of smell was always what brought back the most for her. It could take her to some many places with just one deep breath, but she just wanted him here. These sheets weren't enough.

 _Be careful what you wish for…_

Her Pokedex lit up with a message, no doubt from Steven or one of the others asking where she'd gone. She debated not answering, but she didn't need to feel worse tonight. She opened her Pokedex and, sure enough, it was a message from Steven asking where she was. She typed out a short reply, telling him that she did want to bother anyone traveling back to Ever Grande, so she crashed in his room at Rustboro. Not five minutes later, light flooded the room as the door open, but Lexi wasn't trying to sleep anyway. Someone quietly walked over and knelt down in front of her.

"You didn't need to leave Ever Grande just to make sure I was ok," she said, but her voice was muffled by the sheets.

"Who said I left Ever Grande?" Steven said quietly, "I was actually in your room waiting for you."

"Why?"

"When you didn't come back within two hours I knew something was wrong," he said as he ran his fingers through her hair, "What did Latias show you?"

"Lies," Lexi muttered as she pulled the Pokeball from her pocket and set it beside her face, "And she insisted that she travel with me." Steven stayed quiet as he looked down at the Pokeball before he picked it up and tossed it over onto the couch.

"I have a role in all of this," she muttered as she couldn't stop the tears from staining the sheets, "She said I was important to keeping people safe, but she's lying." She forced her self to sit up and Steven sat back and watched her.

"How could a role so important and so vital, fall to someone like me?" she looked up at him as her eyes sparkled with tears, "An orphaned homeless bastard with nothing?" Her face dropped as her fingers dug into the bed.

"How could someone so worthless have any kind of value like that?" She sobbed aloud, but quickly covered her mouth, but the floodgates were open. She doubled over as more sobs broke from her lips; Steven sat on the bed and pulled her onto his lap as she sobbed into his chest, he rested his head on hers and looked out the window.

"Why do you care?" she finally asked after what felt like hours of crying, "You've proven time and time again that you care, why?" She had him by the head, but that was why he came to Rustboro in the first place to tell her; come clean about everything.

"You don't have to see value in something to love it and want to protect it," he said carefully, "And even if you don't see value in yourself, I do."

"How?" she scoffed and curled closer to his chest, "You're an heir to one of the wealthiest companies in the world. Women probably break their necks falling for you; they have more value than me."

"To some maybe," Steven said, "But I was never one for big business banquets or parties, I always preferred to be in battle or in caves. I guess that why I was so drawn to you…" Lexi went quiet with only a few hiccups and sniffles to break the silence but for Lexi, she could hear Steven's heart pounding like a racehorse in her ear. He was pouring his heart out to her, telling her how he felt, truly felt. She never thought Steven got anxious, and she still believed that this was still some sick joke.

"I felt safe with you," she finally said softly, "That night when we talked at the professor's house till dawn I wasn't afraid to say everything. You could have up and left like everyone else, but…" she shook her head, "I've lost track of the number of times you've given up something for me whether it's a coat or your bed. No one's done that for me before."

 _No one's ever looked at me that way_

They just sat in silence as Steven just rocked back and forth and twisted her hair. She wanted to fall asleep in his arms, but she couldn't. Even as the moon crept into few of the window, signaling that dawn wasn't far away.

"Things aren't going to go back to how they were before, are they?" she asked with an almost childlike fear.

"No," Steven said as his voice rumbled deep in his chest, "But it can move forward from this if you want it to." The thought had crossed her mind more than once tonight, but there was still that _fear_.

"I don't know," she said quietly, "I just don't believe…"

"You don't believe me," Steven said quietly; more a statement than a question. Lexi bit her lip and nodded her head, "What can I do to try and convince you?"

"You could kiss me," she said immediately and tensed up as soon as the word left her lips. While it was a good way to prove if his word were true, it also just gave away her feelings as well.

She looked up as Steven lifted his head atop hers. He looked at her with the softest smile she had ever seen as he leaned in and gently kissed her on the lips. Lexi was wide-eyed in shock for a moment, just a moment, before she sank into the kiss and returned it. She twisted her body, so she straddled his waist slightly and could get a better angle, but was surprised when he started laying her back on her back so he was hovering her. The kiss continued for longer than she thought before he pulled away and looked down at her as his hair cast a mini curtain around his face.

"Believe me now?" he asked with a grin slightly out of breath. A part of her wanted to be mischievous and see just how far she could push this, but no. She wasn't going to ruin this for herself.

"You went a bit further than I thought you would, but yeah. I think I believe you," she said with a few pants of breath. Steven grinned and leaned in to kiss her again, one long and sweet and dripping with emotion as if every unspoken glance and loving gesture was put into it. Every wish, hope, and desire…

Steven pulled back once more, and Lexi closed her eyes with a sigh. Fuck this boy was good.

"Think?" he asked repeating her last answer she could help but laugh.

"With that last one?" she said as she opened her eyes, "I definitely know." He gave her a warm smile and she expected him to lean down and kiss her again, but he swung himself off her hips and started to the door before she stopped him.

"Where are you going?" she asked with a chuckle as she grabbed his wrist.

"I was going to sleep in your room," he said and looked back at her, "but I can tell now that that's not going to happen."

"You can't make out with a girl then get up and leave ya goober," she said with a goofy grin, "Get in this bed, we are sleeping together. Actually sleep together, I can barely keep my eyes open."

"Good me neither," he said as he took he jacket off and hung it on the coat rack as Lexi slide her pants and shirt off and crawled under the sheets. Steven crawled in beside her a few moments later and Lexi laid her head on his chest as she stroked her hair.

"Are you ok with this?" he asked, "No clothes and that?"

"We've got boxers on, right?"

"Well yeah,"

"Good because I'm not waking up to that in the morning," his chest shook with laughter as Lexi smiled to herself. He was so warm and with him running his fingers through her hair, it reminded her of that day in Dewford when she was on the docks with Annie.

"Are we a thing now?" she asked sleepily as her eyelids grew heavy

"Do you want to be a thing?" he asked back, his voice rumbled in his chest.

"I mean…yeah," she said as she closed her eyes and sank deeper and deeper into the lull of sleep.

"Then we can be a thing if you want,"

"What does being a thing entitle?" she asked and she felt his chest rumble with a chuckle

"Whatever you want it to," he answered, "But it does require you get some sleep." He whispered as he kissed the top of her head. She snorted softly and fell quiet and finally succumbed to the sweet warmth of the first peaceful sleep she had had in a long time.

 **AN: I'm going to assume that most of you, if not all of you, have had some kind of partner in some way. I… haven't so I have to imagine what it would be like to be with someone you love and who loves you back just as much. Your self-worth isn't based on someone else's opinions or actions to you, but still…it must be nice to have your hand held or have a forehead kiss. I've never had that kind of affection before, so I don't really know what it's like.**

 **Anyway, sorry for the personal and unnecessary mini rant but this is a recovery fic for both me and Lexi. I put a lot of my emotions and past into her character so sometimes stuff like this happens. Be sure to let me know how I did and I'm creating a schedule for putting out chapters so we'll see how that goes. Be your own you will try to be published either on Mondays or Tuesdays and The Nightwatch will be updated on Fridays or Saturdays. I'm already I bit ahead of schedule and was going to wait till next week to post this chapter but I decided to post it tonight to go ahead and get it out.**

 **The songs used in this chapter are Counting Paths by Matthew and the Atlas and she quotes a lyric from Simple and Sweet by Jon Bellion, and I really recommend you take a listen to both of them cause their pretty neat songs**

 **See you guys next week :)**


	17. Fortee City

Steven was the first one to wake up that next morning and momentarily forgot about the night before. The weight on his bare chest startled him until he looked down and saw Lexi sleeping in the morning light. Her curled hair was sprawled out across his chest and down her shoulder, but she wasn't crying or whimpering in her sleep; she was at peace.

He knew that they needed to get back to Ever Grande, the Elites would start to wonder where they had both run off to without much notice and he had a feeling they already had their suspicions. He would leave the final decision up to Lexi whether they got together or not. He wasn't going to do anything that she wasn't comfortable with, but that didn't mean other people would follow that same mentality. He knew the media would be all over them once word got out if they did indeed get together; The girlfriend of a Champion was something the public ate up like candy and with Steven also being the heir to Devon corporation it was sure to double to the number of cameras.

Lexi groaned and tilted her head into the crook of his neck, and Steven held still to keep from waking her. She settled down with a sigh and fell still once more as Steven traced small circles along her waist. It amazed him how soft and smooth her skin was; he wished he could just pause time and just stay in this bubble like this.

But life gave him a wake-up call as his Pokedex chimed to life; a message, probably from one of the Elites. Lexi moaned and buried her face in his neck; her warm breath sent chills up his back.

"Can we ignore them for one day?" she muttered, "I don't want to move." He moved his hand and laced his fingers with hers as his Pokedex went off again.

"It's probably important," he said and watched as her finger twisted one of his rings. Then, another chime, but this time it came from Lexi's Pokedex. Steven reluctantly stood from the bed and shivered from the sudden cold after Lexi was moved from beside him. Both messages were from Drake and one from Wallace that he must have gotten during the night while they were sleeping.

"What is it?" she asked from the bed. She stayed curled under the sheets to stay warm and watched Steven as he read the messages with mild concern.

"Winona's gym was attacked last night and some of the trainers were hurt," he said as he started typing out a reply as she sat up in the bed, "We need to get back to Ever Grande as soon as possible.

"I don't think the Elites will let me go," she said as he threw on a pair of pants and started buttoning up his shirt.

"If what Latias told you last night was true, then your more qualified to be there then any of us," he said, but Lexi looked away and rubbed the side of her neck, "and if it's not true, then we have one more pair of eyes to keep watch." She looked back at him, and he gave her the most reassuring smile he could give. She was thankful he could tell, but there was still something in her eyes that gave away her fear and doubt.

"Alright," she finally said and swung her legs out of the bed. She quickly got dressed as Steven did his best to look presentable in the mirror; he caught sight of her stomach just as he did that morning in Professor Birch's living room. She was thinner now than she was before, but she was still toned, and scars crossed at parts of her skin. He briefly thought about her pocket knife and the scared-up skin on her thigh.

"Leave together or separate?" she asked snapping him from the thought. She turned to look at him as she pulled her hair up into a ponytail.

"What?"

"People might be a bit suspicious if we walk out of here together, and I don't think you want many people to know about us yet,"

"I didn't know there was an "us"," he and he caught her side eye in the mirror. The kind of side-eye that someone gave you when they told you something before, but you ask them about it five minutes later.

"Yes, Steven I always kiss my friends on the mouth and then sleep with them almost buck naked," her voice was dripping with sarcasm as Steven shook his head.

"I'm more worried about the Elites than anything," he said making a few slight adjustments before he decided he looked ok, "They wouldn't do anything bad, they just…"

"Talk and tease," she said as she stepped up beside him and leaned her head on his shoulder, "I could see that," They didn't say anything more and just stood there for a few moments taking in each other; how quickly she could turn from a girl curled up in bed protesting going anywhere or doing anything like a child refusing to get up for school, to a woman that almost looked like she was ready to go into battle with the vocabulary to match. Steven had gone from a man daydreaming about possibilities and "what ifs" to someone prepared to lead, make calls and sacrifices when the time came.

"I think you're forgetting something…" he said as he looked at her in the mirror. She frowned and looked at herself closely in the mirror.

"No, I don't think so?" she said and looked up at him and the smile he had on his face, "What?" she laughed. He leaned down and kissed her slow and sweet and brought his hand up to cup her cheek. When he pulled away, she looked down and bit her bottom lip, but her cheeks had a rosy glow.

"There," he said, but she still wouldn't look up, "That rosy color on your cheeks make you look much better." He didn't expect to get shoved, but he knew it was all in good fun as she grabbed her bag and walked towards the door with a shake of her head.

"Don't you think we've kept them waiting long enough?" she asked with a shy smile as she stopped at the door, but her cheeks were now a deeper shade of red. Steven caught up with her as the pair walked out together.

Wallace liked to think of himself as a patient man; he often had to wait hours for trainers to figure out his ice puzzles just to get up and battle him. Steven would disagree completely, and compared to him he didn't have an ounce of patience especially right know. Lexi had been gone since midday yesterday and Steven left a few hours later; neither of them came back and they still hadn't shown up and it was already late morning.

"50 bucks says they aren't going to leave the bed," Sidney chimed in before Glacia smacked him hard over the back of the head, "What?"

"I can't believe you'd say something so childish and immature," she said calmly as she walked around Drake's desk and took a seat beside the dragon master.

"But you have to admit," Phoebe chimed in, "Isn't it a little suspicious that they both went missing for the night and none of us can get a hold of them?" Glacia glanced at her and rubbed the side of her head to try and relive a growing headache.

"You are all treating this like its some kind of game or soap opera," she said, "It's ridiculous."

"We're happy for the lad, is all Glacia," Drake added as he leaned back and crossed his leg, "When was the last time you saw him anywhere outside his office near a breakdown?"

"That's not the point," she snapped, and Wallace took his eyes away from the window, "Now is not the time to be pursuing a relationship and she isn't a trainer worthy of his time or effort. She isn't even a trainer to begin with." The chair Wallace was sitting on shifted as Silas pulled himself out from under it with a deep growl; he didn't like hearing her talk about Lexi in such a rude light. Glacia seemed slightly surprised as Wallace placed a hand on his back and rubbed his fur.

"Easy Silas," he soothed and glared up at Glaica, "She didn't mean anything by it," Silas snorted and looked out the window before jumping up onto the glass with a sharp bark. Wallace followed his gaze and saw Steven landing on Skarmory and Lexi land beside him on…

"Holy shit…" he muttered as Silas pushed as the glass and to the door with Wallace right behind. The other Elites looked out the window and quickly followed as they met the pair outside.

"About time you two got here," Wallace teased as he greeted the two. Silas bounded ahead and leaped up into Lexi's arm as she fell back into the grass, "But I have one quick question… Did Lexi just fly in on Latias?"

"Yes," Steven replied simply as if it was the easiest question in the world, "It's…a really long story,"

"Really long! Silas! Stop that tickles!" Lexi laughed as the Pyroar sniffed her all over. She tried to curl up, but he uncurled her easy before he seemed satisfied, and moved onto Steven. Lexi was left on the ground clutching her stomach in pain, that good kind of pain from laughing too hard.

 _"Why was your Pyroar so aggressive just now?_ She heard Latias ask as Lexi stood brushed the grass from her clothes and hair.

"He wasn't he just really missed me," she explained as he came back and rubbed against her leg.

"Sidney bet the two of you wouldn't even show up," Drake called as the rest of them joined, "Now he's out 50 bucks,"

"Brave bet," Lexi smirked as she scratched Silas behind the ear, "What made him think we'd show up together?"

"You both kind of ran off at the same time so…" Sidney clasped the back of his neck nervously as Lexi raised an eyebrow.

"Anyway," Steven ended the conversation, "We have something important to deal with in Fortee City." Lexi cast a quick glance his direction; she found out he was a pretty bad liar when it came to topics like this, so he always just ended the subject before it started. Smart in some ways, dumb in others.

"Right," Glacia said rather forcefully, "We were waiting for you to get here so we could all arrive together."

"Then let's get going then," Lexi chimed as returned Silas to his Pokeball and climbed onto Latias as the others released their own flying types to make the trip. She made another quick glance at Steven as he just the same and gave him a small smile which he returned with a small sigh.

 _"I know the way to Fortee City,"_ Latias said as she twisted her head back towards her, _"We could leave now if you want?"_

"No, let's fly with everyone else," she said and watched everyone else mount their own Pokemon and take to the sky. Latias took off with heart-stopping speed and easily caught up with them before settling in at a decent speed just ahead of Steven and right behind Pheobe. She had gotten used to flying by now especially on Latias. She rarely needed to hold onto the Legendry's neck unless they took sharp turns or made sudden stops, so she simply held on with her legs.

Within ten minutes they had all landed at the pokecenter of the small treehouse town. The group received a few stares from passing residences before they climbed up the ladders into their homes. It was always best to stay out of the affairs of the Elites and gym leaders unless you were a trainer yourself.

"Is there any way I can summon you without having to stuff you in a Pokeball?" Lexi asked as she eyes Latias's Pokeball in her hands, "I feel terrible forcing you in here,"

 _"It is not as bad as you think,"_ she said, _"I had an item in my possession that one could you to call me, but I'm afraid I lost it some time ago."_

"I'll keep on the lookout for it then," Lexi said as she reluctantly returned Latias to her Pokeball and walked into the pokecenter with the others.

It smelled sterile and clean, too clean for her liking, but there was a faint hint of something coppery and metallic. Different trainers and doctors walked up and down the stairs as they walked up the second floor and saw a makeshift hospital made for at least eight different trainers each with varying degrees of injuries.

"Winona!" Wallace said as he jogged up to a woman with long lavender hair who was standing by the bed of a trainer who was unconscious with thick bandaging around his chest. The woman's eyes lit up and she greeted him with a smile. They talked for a few moments before they both made their way back to the group.

"Come this way," she said, "We'll have more privacy in the conference room," She quickly lead them through a series of hallways till they stepped into a quiet room with a long table and a way of the forest surrounding the town.

"Thank you for coming on such short notice," she said as she sat down beside Wallace with a tired sigh, "I would have had someone greet you at the front, but I've been so busy this morning that I must have lost track of time."

"That's completely fine lass," Drake said with a nod, "Have you an idea what's happened?"

"Vaguely," she said with a twist of her face, "From the information I've gathered from the trainers that weren't too badly hurt it happened early this morning just before dawn, and whatever it was it wasn't human."

"So Pokemon?" Sidney suggested, and Winona sighed in frustration.

"I don't know, it was too dark for any of the trainers I've asked to really see and the trainer that actually hurt whatever it was is still unconscious and isn't showing signs of waking up," she shook her head and closed her eyes, "But Pokemon don't attack people, they never have so why start now?" She looked up and caught Drake cast a glance at Steven who had his head on his knuckles in thought, "What?"

"We…were actually attacked less than two weeks ago," Phoebe explained, "We left it out of the alert we sent out, but a black Salamance attacked Steven and almost killed him. It came to Ever Grande to finish the job but was able to be chased away and we haven't seen it since then,"

"Oh my God," Winona gasped as she looked towards Steven, "Completely unprovoked or..?

"It shot me from the sky," he said simply and went back to thinking. Winona muttered something under her breath, but Lexi couldn't catch what it was.

"This is crazy," she said a little loud as she slumped back in her chair, "This couldn't be Team Magma or Aqua's doing right?"

"I don't think so," Glacia chimed in, "They haven't shown any overly aggressive actions towards trainers of the gyms aside from unwanted battles and the like, but they never maimed the trainers themselves.

"These are Pokemon lashing out on their own, but we've never seen or heard of something like this before," Steven finally spoke up, "We can assume that whatever attack you last night will be back again tonight. We can search the area today and stay a few days to see if anything happens while we're here,"

"I'd appreciate that," Winona said with a slight nod of her head, "Most of the trainers that were hurt last night were a part of the security team, so a lot of the other trainers don't feel safe anymore,"

"We'll get to the bottom of this Winona," Wallace said, "I promise,"

"Thank you," she said and broke from his gaze, "I have to return to help see to the trainers. If you need anything, please go to the gym and we will offer any help we can. I will speak to someone about finding rooms for you to sleep tonight." The group nodded in unison and made their way back downstairs and back outside.

"So, we can't do much until that trainer Winona talked about wakes up," Phoebe said.

"We can search the woods around town," Lexi suggested, "We could find something that might be able to give us a clue what attacked this place."

"That's a good idea, but we're an uneven group. I'm not having someone search by themselves," Steven catch his gaze over to her slightly longer than normal and she got the message.

 _I'm not letting you wonder these woods alone as much as you want to_

"I'll stay behind," Wallace added, "Winona said she didn't feel comfortable leaving the gym so exposed with so many of her security team out, so I'll stay behind and make sure nothing happens.

"Why doesn't she stay," Glacia said jerking her head towards Lexi, "If we do run into anything out there, she isn't trained enough to handle herself out there." Lexi was slightly taken back for a moment. She didn't speak much with the ice type Elite, but she always thought they had gotten along ok; guess she was wrong.

"That's why I'm searching with her," Steven said sternly as Glacia looked back at him, "Her Pyroar has tracking experience which could help us out there. You four are the Elite Four for a reason; I can make up for her lack of experience." Lexi was quite flattered and slightly embarrassed; She didn't always need Steven's protection from everything, she wasn't a baby. Glacia glanced down at her for a brief moment before looking back up at Steven.

"Alright," she said shortly and that was the end of that. They quickly splintered into groups, Sidney and Phoebe, Drake and Glacia, and Steven with Lexi; They each chose a direction and started into the woods as Wallace walked back into the pokecenter to help Winona.

"I appreciate you standing up for me back there," she said as pulled out Silas's Pokeball, "But that last bit was a bit…much," Silas stretched his claws and shook his mane as he was released, and Lexi walked up and rubbed his head.

"I noticed as soon as I said it," he said almost shamefully, "But Glacia can be a tough person to convince once she has her mind set on something."

"I figured," she said as she pulled herself up onto Silas's back, "It just, I don't know, it just got me thinking…" She sighed deeply as Silas turned his head and roared softly at her.

"We can talk while we walk," he said as Silas snorted and began slowly walking on the precut-out path, "Thinking about what? Last night?"

"Latias told me that my role meant I needed to have skills at the level of a Champion," she said as she ran her fingers through Silas mane, "I don't know if that means I have to become the Champion myself or battle all the gym leaders or what. I just don't know if capable of something like that,"

"I'm sure that's what every future Champion thinks," Steven said, and Lexi scoffed.

"You have so much faith in me," she laughed, "But, let's jump from this very inspiring topic because I have a more pressing question."

"Alright," Steven said as Lexi leaned against Silas's neck and looked at him.

"Were Wallace and Winona ever a thing? Cause he's stuck by her side like glue and volunteered to stay behind so we could search; Plus, he was a lot quieter than usual when we showed up, and, considering they were making bets on if we would even show up at all, he didn't say anything about it." Steven grunted and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Things like that are…complicated with him," he said, and Lexi could tell that he was uncomfortable with the topic, "I don't care, and neither do the Elites nor does Winona as far as I know, but it's not very public news,"

"Ah," she said as the pieces clicked into place, "But, isn't he adored in the public eye? Wouldn't they still love him even if they found out about something like that?"

"That wasn't a risk he really wanted to take, and he doesn't really seem to mind anymore," Steven shrugged, "But, to answer your question, he has a massive crush on her, yes,"

"Ha!" she cried and slapped Silas on the neck, "I knew it!"

Suddenly, Silas stopped, lifted his head, and sniffed the air. Lexi stood still as stone and tuned her ears to try and hear anything out of the ordinary. Steven watched behind them as she slowly slid off Silas's back next to him as the Pyroar quietly padded into the brush. Neither of them breathed a word as he disappeared into the woods.

"Suddenly, searching the woods wasn't such a good idea," she whispered as she pressed her back against Steven's. She felt his body shake with a chuckle as he grabbed her hand. Silas roared not too far away, but it wasn't a challenge for attack; He had found something. They quickly started cutting through the brush to get to him, but they smelled it long before they reached him.

They broke into a small clearing still somewhat covered my trees and saw Silas sitting next to a pile of dead Pokemon. Flies buzzed off the corpses and the stomachs of many of them were sliced out and left their organs trailing across the ground. There were large bite marks and puncture wounds covering almost every inch of the bodies.

"This wasn't done for food," Steven said with his voice muffled by his jacket as he knelt next to one of the bodies, "And this wasn't done by our Salamance." Lexi knelt beside him with her shirt over her nose and looked at the body of a large Rhydon. It looked like its just had tried to be cut open, but its thick plating kept that from happening. Unfortunately, its armor couldn't stop whatever had managed to puncture its hip, chest, and just under its head which Lexi guess was the killing blow for the powerful beast.

"I've seen these guys in Kalos," she said as she carefully reached out and touched the Pokémon's massive hoof, "Wild in the forest. They were the biggest and strongest Pokemon there; whatever took this guy down must be…" she didn't finish that thought because she didn't want to.

 _ **Cause they run, they hide**_

Lexi's head shot up immediately as the soft voices whispered in the wind. The Monastery Dogs…How she could hear them this far away from the cave didn't matter right now, all she cared about was what they said.

"We need to hide," she said urgently as she stood and scanned the clearing. Nothing was here yet. Silas grunted and raised his head to try and see what she was seeing.

"What?" Steven asked as he stood and joined the search, "What is it?"

 _ **Cause they run, they hide**_

"It's coming back," she said, but she still couldn't find any sign that something was coming, "I know I sound crazy, but…" Silas cut her off with a sharp bark with his head turned towards where they came. She could see the shadow of something lumbering towards them, something very big.

"We don't have time to run to the tree line it'll see us before we make it," she said as Steven finally saw the beast coming towards them. Lexi couldn't seem to look away from its lumbering form as it crushed down small trees and brush; How had they not seen any of that coming into the clearing?

"Hide in the bodies," Steven said as pulled on her arm, but she didn't budge, "Lexi, we need to hide!" She didn't respond; she wasn't even aware of what was happening anymore. Suddenly she wasn't in Hoenn anymore, but in Kalos and it was night time. It was the same situation, but this beast was much _much_ bigger. She felt something struggle in her arms, but as she looked down a thunderous roar broke her vision like lightning and she was back in the clearing, only now the beast had broken the tree line and was staring straight at her with sickening yellow eyes. The beast was an Aargon of massive proportions and was easily double the size of a normal Aargon, but what chilled her blood was how the usual silver armor and black skin was now replaced with crimson red skin and black steel plating.

"Don't either of you move no matter what happens," she muttered to the pile of bodies. She couldn't see Steven or Silas, but she knew they were there. Lexi took a slow step back when the Aargon suddenly got on all fours and charged her. Lexi quickly tried to run back to the forest where she would have at least some sort of cover, but she knew the Aargon would catch her before she made it a quarter of the way there. The beast swung its massive tail and kicked her legs out from under her and she fell to the ground. The beast pinned her to the ground and roared in her face as she tilted her head away.

 _"How could you have made it out here all by yourself?"_ the Aggron snorted and Lexi forced herself not to react. It was the same as the Salamance, only this one didn't seem interested in killing her. It knelt down to her face and stared her down, but it didn't do what the Salamance did, he simply…stared at her. She could smell the blood that caked the beasts armored teeth and dual horns, and she could hear her heartbeat pounding in her ears like a jackhammer on concrete.

Suddenly, the beast snorted and turned back towards the pile like it smelled or…heard something, and suddenly the rapid pounding in her chest seemed to stop completely and her hands went numb.

 _"Maybe you came for your lost Pokemon,"_ it snorted, _"Gutted and killed like the weakling it was. But still…"_ It turned its attention back to her, but she had her eyes shut tight, _"Something about you smells…familiar,"_ Her eyes snapped open before she had realized what she had done. The Aggron roared an pulled back its massive claw and swiped it down towards her, but she barely managed to roll out of the way and stumble to her feet and try to get some distance. The ground shook as it thundered after her before a metal screech cut the air and she heard metal hitting metal. She quickly looked behind her and saw Metagross blocking the Aggron's claws and trying to drive its metal spike into its chest. The Aggron pushed Metagross back and he hovered back close to her. The beast snarled but didn't make another attempt to attack her, but that didn't stop Metagross from attack with an unspoken order. He rushed the Aggron and assaulted the beast with a flurry of punches all over its body before retreating. Suddenly, the Aggron leaped forward, but Metagross met it half way and the pair battled for power. All Lexi could do was stand there until she felt someone grab tightly onto her arm.

"We need to get out of here," Steven said urgently and gently pulled her from the battle. Lexi wordlessly nodded, and the pair quickly ran to a waiting Silas and took off back to the town.

"What about Metagross?" she asked loudly as she held tightly onto Steven's waist as Silas jumped a dead log. She could still hear the battle over the rushing wind, but it was quickly becoming fainter and waiting until it just stopped altogether, "Shouldn't we go back for him?"

"I trust Metagross on this," Steven said, "He's in his Mega Evolved form, and I didn't tell him to take down that Aggron. Just to protect you until we got out of there."

"Why didn't you tell him to take it down?"

"Even Mega Metagross has his limits and I don't want to push it," he said shortly, "I don't want to try and take down that thing until we have everyone together including you." She nodded wordlessly even though she knew he couldn't see and leaned her head against his back. Her heart was still pounding wildly, but it was beginning to calm down as they ran back onto the path and into the town. Silas skidded to a stop to avoid the small group of people that had gathered outside the pokecenter as Lexi and Steven swung themselves off and pushed through the group.

"There you are!" Wallace said as they rushed through the door, "I got your message, but so did the rest of the town it seems; I think its safe to assume that they aren't happy about the current state of things,"

"Well, that's how it's going to have to be for a while," Steven said sternly as the trio walked up the stairs to the main room, "We need to talk to Winona as soon as we can,"

"I already told her you were on your way back," he said as he led them back to the same room they were in before. Winona had her back to them when they walked in, looking out the window into the forest.

"What is this, Steven? First Wallace tells me that you've found something and then suddenly you are in a dead sprint back to town," she said rather harshly, but still didn't turn to look at them, "I have a town of people that rely on me to protect them from dangers like this, and I need to know what you found out there." She turned back, and her face was red and flush from what Lexi thought could have been crying, but how could she cry at a time like this?

"We found a… pile," Steven hesitated and glanced down to the ground away from Winona's gaze.

"A pile?" Winona asked, "What kind of pile?" Steven didn't answer and instead took a deep breath, "Steven, answer me."

"Winona," Lexi spoke up, "It was a pile of butchered Pokemon…" the color completely drained from her face, "The beast that killed them didn't kill them for food; it mutilated their bodies and then left them to rot."

"And this was the same beast that attacks my gym?" she asked, but her voice cracked slightly. Lexi dropped her head slightly before nodding, "What was it?" she demanded.

"An Aggron," Steven said, "We were looking closer at the bodies when it broke into the clearing. It charged us immediately and we were barely able to escape with the help of Metagross and her Pyroar, Silas."

"Why didn't you kill it?" she asked, but it was harsher than it should have been, "Both of you are in full ability to take down one Pokemon…"

"This wasn't just one normal Pokemon," Lexi cut her off with the same amount of bite, "That Aggron was twice its normal size, and it was the exact same beast as the Salamance that attacked us on Ever Grande. If we hadn't had run when we did then we would have been another stack of bodies in that pile." She stared down the gym leader quiet harshly and felt something swell in her chest when Winona coward away under her gaze. A swelling feeling of something primal, like an alpha forcing an omega to obey its authority. The feeling made her pull her shoulder back, and she caught her lips pulling back into a snarl and was just able to stop herself.

She did not like it at all

"Look, I know that you are worried about the safety of the town and its people," Lexi said after she relaxed her shoulders and averted her gaze, but the feeling sat and gnawed on her bones like a dog, "But, demanding that we charge head onto into a no-win situation would only make things worse for everyone." Winona sighed and rubbed her hands across her face; Lexi could feel stares drilling into her back and did her best to ignore them.

"You're right," she finally said, but still didn't meet her gaze, "I shouldn't have acted on my emotions, and should have thought the situation through before I spoke."

"This is a trying time for everyone," Wallace said, "No one should blame you for acting out…" Lexi sighed and bit the inside of her lip; He was talking about her she could hear it in his voice.

"I'll call everyone else in for the day," Lexi said. She turned to walk out the door and caught both Steven and Wallace's gaze; Steven, worried and confused at her sudden actions, and Wallace simply glared at her even as she walked out the door and passed the window.

Everyone arrived back at town within 30 minutes at met Steven, Wallace, and Winona in the conference room. Phoebe gave her a skeptical look when she didn't follow them, but she waved them on with the most convincing smile she could muster when in reality she felt as if she could claw the paint off the side of the pokecenter. She didn't want to be around anyone, but it was too dangerous to go back out into the woods. She was stuck here to stew in her emotions, and all she could do was sit under a tree and stare at one place for what felt like hours. She tried everything to calm herself down, but nothing seemed to work.

It was evening before someone walked up to her. She expected it to be Steven and to be wrapped in a tight hug, but when the person squatted down Lexi saw the aged and wrinkled face of Drake. She simply stared at him like she had been staring at the ground, but he gave her a small half smile.

"Do you know how long you've been sittin' out here?" he asked, but Lexi didn't answer. She was afraid if she said anything that she would simply lash out at the dragon master who had simply come to help.

"6 hours," he said simply, "Goin' on 7 actually,"

"Steven sent you out here, didn't he?" she mumbled and curled her toes up till they started hurting. Drake shrugged.

"He's out of it in there if that's what you mean," he said, "Hasn't said more than 10 words and his head snaps towards the door anytime it opens," Lexi could help but give a small smile at the idea of Steven being so flustered and worried about her that he couldn't focus.

"We got the actual story when we got there," Drake said, and her smile quickly disappeared, "Lass, why would you take on that beast by yourself?"

"I froze up, and didn't have time to hide," she said. It wasn't a complete lie, she did freeze up.

"You don't freeze up in battle," he said seeing right through her lie, "I've been around long enough that I can tell when someone freezes, and you're not one of them," She looked off to the side at a pair of trainers conversing in front of the pokecenter. She wished things could be simple like that for her; talking to another trainer, not having to worry about murderous Pokemon or fated destinies.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you, Drake," she said finally. Steven barely knew what the hell happened last night, but she knew that he didn't believe anything she said. Everything he said was for comfort, and nothing else. Drake was silent for a few moments debating whether or not to push the question or not when he heard Glacia calling his name. Everyone had walked out of the center and was heading towards a ladder leading up to the tree houses, everyone except for Steven who hesitated when he sat Drake knelt beside Lexi and Lexi not looking in too good of shape. Drake nodded his head towards them, and Steven quickly jogged over.

"You're making a mistake calling him over here," Lexi said with a smile as she rolled her head to the other side. Drake chuckled.

"And I'd have to hear him worryin' all night if he didn't check on you," he said, "I know how he is Lass, especially with people like you," She didn't have to ask what he meant by that. She knew Drake was smart enough to put together the pieces faster than anyone else.

"You ok?" Steven asked as he crouched down beside her, "When you left and didn't come back I…"

"Got worried I know," she finished for him and gave him a tired smile, "Drake was just telling me all about it." His face flushed slightly before he cleared his throat.

"But in all seriousness Lex," he said, "Are you ok?"

 _No, Steven, there's a mad dog that's trying to claw its way out of my chest and I can't stop thinking about the pile of rotten Pokemon we found; I keep thinking about everything Latias said and what I saw when that Aargon showed up._

That was what she wanted to say. She wanted to kick, scream, punch, and claw in a primal rage that she could barely control. She wanted everyone to leave her alone, but she knew that was the last thing she needed.

"Sure," she said, but her voice cracked. Steven gave her a sad smile and tears pricked at her eyes, "I don't know what happened to make me snap like I did in there,"

"Like Wallace said, Emotions are running high right now," he said, "Blow ups are to be expected at some point,"

"But this wasn't a blow up," she said and shook her head, "Something just… snapped," An image of the black Salamance clawing and biting into the body of a large four-armed Pokemon formed in her mind, and she connected it right away with the emotion in her chest. She sighed and turned her head, not wanting to say anything more and Steven noticed.

"Well, you were able to get more out of her than I could," Drake said trying to lighten the mood, "Care to give me any tips Lad?"

 _It's easy Drake. You just have to drag a girl from the ocean and breath life back into her, sneak her out of the hospital, play the fun song and dance of painful flirting before you finally make out with her on your bed after she breaks down into tears. It's as simple as that!_

"You want to know, don't you?" Lexi asked him, and Steven didn't know what she was talking about for a minute.

"Well…" the older man said as he rubbed the back of his neck, "It's been the only thing the Elites have talking about for the past three days." Then it clicked for him.

"They been wanting to know about that for three days?" Steven asked, and Drake shrugged.

"We may have…accidently…" he struggled to find the right words, "walked in on you two asleep after the second Salamance attack, and they've been curious ever since…" Steven was actually shocked that his group of battle-hardened Elites would spend so much time thinking about his relationship with someone. Lexi snorted and covered her mouth to hide her laughter as she glanced up at Steven.

"Wait, so when we were both gone last night…" Steven started, but the almost shameful look on Drakes' face answered his question, "Jesus Christ Drake,"

"You guys really need more entertainment there if that's what keeps you occupied," Lexi said, but her face was beet red and he could tell she wanted nothing more than to tuck away and forget that the Elites saw them that way.

"Look, I don't care what happened last night," Drake said raising his hands in defense, "I just want to know long-term plans," Steven glanced down at Lexi just as she glanced up at him. They didn't want anyone to know yet, but Drake was a trustworthy person that could keep a secret, Steven knew this for a fact. He nodded towards the other man and she scrunched her eyebrows together in question; he replied with a small nod and she sighed.

"Yeah," she said simply and looked at the other man, "We're… Yeah," Drake smiled warmly as he stood and brushed the grass from his knees. Steven extended a hand to Lexi to help her up, but neither let go after she stood.

"I assuming this isn't to get out to the others?" he asked and they both nodded.

"The last thing we need right now is to have everyone distracted about this," Steven said, "We need everyone focused if we're going to take that Aargon down tomorrow." Lexi squeezed his hand hard, and he rewrapped his fingers between hers.

"Eye captain," Drake said with a nod, "Lexi, you're welcome to my spot with Steven if you want. Winona had you placed with Glacia and I know she can be a hard person to get used to," She thought she heard something more behind the dragon masters words, but she decided to ignore it for now. Her and Glacia knew seemed to get along very well, and she really needed Stevens company tonight.

"I think I'll take you up on that Drake," she said gratefully. Drake nodded as they parted ways for the night. Lexi sighed in relief and leaned against Steven's shoulder.

"I didn't think it was going to go that well," she said

"I've told Drake a lot of things over the past few months, and he hasn't said a word to anyone else. I know he'll keep his word,"

"If he doesn't you're the first one to get my fury," she said, and Steven chuckled.

"Then I'll make sure he keeps his word," he leaned around to kiss her on the lips, shorter than before but only because she started laughing. He smiled at her as she buried her head in his chest and he wrapped her in a tight hug. What he didn't see was the silent tears rolling down her face and staining his shirt; her chest was swelling again, but this wasn't a feeling of anger or need to attack, it was a fear for the future and a feeling of a looming danger hanging over them.

 **Edit: Thank you meteor13 for pointing out that I spelled Aggron like the element of the periodic table Aragon. I actually got a good chuckle cause I almost failed chemistry so this is really ironic to me. I fixed that and a few other things :)**

 **AN: First off: over 500 people have read the story this month only like holy shit! We're just halfway through January! Let's see if we can hit 1,000 by the end of the month and start the new year off right** **Second, this is the longest chapter to date at almost 7,500 words like holy shit that's a big achievement for me as a writer. I'm super proud of how this story is coming along!**

 **The long awaited thing has happened! The thing that maybe a few people have been looking forward to. Steven and Lexi are officially a thing, and like every relationship, it's going to have its bumps and** **sinkholes** **potholes in the road but they'll get through it.**

 **And what was up with Lexi? Snapping like that at Winona was really rude, but it had to have been from all the stress she's been through right?**

 _ **Right?**_

 **Anyway, the bolded lyrics used in this chapter are from the song They run, They hide by Brolly. Another amazing song that you guys should check out! I'll see you guys next week!**


	18. Martyr

Steven knew she didn't sleep that night. She got up often during the night and stood out on the balcony before a storm rolled into and sent heavy raindrops pounding on the roof. Then, she'd climb back into the hammock bed and stare out the window.

He felt like he should have said something to comfort her; it was clear something had been bothering her since they got back into town, but he didn't know what to do to help her. He didn't want to force her to tell him, but if she didn't tell anyone then it could make things worse. The way she snapped at Winona in the gym was justified, but it wasn't her. Lexi didn't snap like that from what Steven knew, and then she went and completely isolated herself afterward.

Maybe all these attacks were getting to her...

He was relieved to see her curled up asleep as the sky began to lighten. For all Steven knew she could be faking it, but he pushed the thought from his mind as he stepped out into the drizzling rain and down the ladder to the pokecenter. It was mostly empty so early in the morning save for the trainers still recovering from the Aggron attack, but he found Wallace leaned against the door outside the conference room. He looked tired, he's normally perfect hair was disheveled and messy and he was dressed sloppily. He looked over and gave him a tired, almost sad looking smile.

"No Lexi this morning?" He asked as Steven stopped in front of him and buried his hands in his pockets.

"She was asleep when I woke up, so I figured it'd be best to let her sleep a little while longer," Steven wasn't going to tell him about her staying up all night wondering the small room. Wallace nodded his head, but Steven knew there was more to this than a friendly good morning.

"Look, Steven I... I'm sorry for how I acted yesterday," Wallace said and rubbed the back of his neck, "I know I was acting like..."

"A child?" Steven finished for him and Wallace sighed. Steven caught onto his passive aggressive remarks and the stares he cast Lexi's way real fast and was quick to call him out for it once they had all left for the night. It ended in a very quiet disagreement, and the two decided to stay away from the other for the night. They had gotten into disagreements before over stupider things, but this was something that meant a lot to both of them.

"Things were starting to hit too close to home," he apologized, "First you getting attacked, and then Winona and her gym,"

"Wallace, I get it," he interrupted him once more, "I've had someone close to me attacked too, remember?"

"Yeah…" Wallace replied and looked at him sheepishly, "we good?"

"Yeah, we're good," Steven answered with a small smile as Phoebe and Drake walked up beside them, both thoroughly drenched to the bone.

"Well, the rain sure picked a good time to come in!" Phoebe chimed as she rung her hair of water, "This should make things more difficult,"

"Or easier," Steven added, "Steel types aren't fond of the rain and will usually hide until it's over. If we find the Aggron before the storm blows over then we can corner it and make this quick and easy,"

"Here's hoping," Drake said with a less than optimistic sigh.

While back at the treehouse, Lexi lazily sat in the hammock bed with one leg draped over the side watching a stream of water trail of the roof and down to the ground. She always liked rainstorms, but no one ever seemed to. It was the strange stillness that the world had as just one thing happened and one thing only; birds weren't flying, no animals were out, people were tucked in their houses, it was just a peaceful stillness.

She had smelt the storm coming during the night, even over the sea breeze. She was desperate to grab ahold of anything because her mind was running at the speed of light. She hyper-focused on every tiny detail in the room from the faint coffee stains on the wooden floors to how many boards were used for the roof. She kept going outside hoping it would ease her racing mind, but it didn't do anything but make her fingers drum against the wooden railing.

She knew Steven was awake most of the night because of her. Sometimes she could see a faint glint of light reflecting from his eyes in the dark and she heard him breathe like he was going to say something more than once, but he never did. She hated worrying him; she wasn't worth the trouble of losing a nights sleep over. She wasn't that important. He was doing more important thing than to be up worrying about her.

The sky rumbled faintly signaling an approaching thunderstorm. She needed to get up and do something; go out and search on Silas or Latias or help in the Pokecenter with Winona, but she could seem to find the will to move her body. It was like every inch of her skin was replaced with 50-pound weights because she knew if she went out there she would simply get more and more questions and no fucking answers to any of them. It was getting to the point where she wished Latias hadn't saved her from falling back into the ocean…

A quiet knock rasped on the wooden archway and Lexi opened her eyes that she hadn't even realized she had closed.

"You awake yet?" Steven asked. Lexi rolled her head towards the doorway and saw him standing just inside soaking wet from the rain. Even now he looked worried about her…

"Yeah I'm up," she said and sat up in the hammock to emphasize, "Just watching the rain that you clearly had a fun time playing in." She tried to give him the most convincing smile she could give, and he seemed to buy it as he grinned back with a shrug.

"The nice thing about Hoenn is how unpredictable the weather is," he joked and stepped further into the house, "It's why most people move here really,"

"Oh I'm sure," she joked back, but her chest tighten slightly, but thankfully he didn't notice, "Are you still going out even in this weather?"

"Since we found that Aggron yesterday I'm afraid it will try to attack the town again soon now that it knows that we're onto it," he said, "And with the rain, it'll hide itself in a cave or tunnel system to keep from rusting its armor so it's the perfect time to hunt it down,"

"Aren't most of your team members steel types too?" she asked and raised an eyebrow, "Won't you have the same issue with them?"

"With everyone else with me it should make up for the weakness in battle," he said, "But…"

"I know," she said and flopped back down into the hammock bed, "I'll stay in the town; I just seem to be bait for these beasts anyway,"

"I know you'd rather be out there with us," he said as he leaned against the tree trunk shooting up through the middle of the house, "But yesterday was too close of call, and…" he hesitated, like what he was saying was a secret someone told him not to tell, "Something was wrong last night and…even now I can tell somethings wrong," Lexi closed her eyes as a cool mist drifted in through the window, and it brought up a small faint memory from years ago; from before her mother was attacked and everything was fine. The two of them were sitting on the riverbank drenched to the bone; she could faintly remember her mother's voice and laugh, but nothing of what she said. She remembered seeing something snake through the water at lightning speed, but all she saw was its shadow under the water. She should have felt scared, but she didn't. In fact, she felt safer on the riverbank than she ever did anywhere else.

"I'm not going to force you to tell me what's wrong," Steven said and brought her back to reality, "That's not how you build a relationship, but I just… I'm here if you need someone, ok?" She rolled her head and saw him still standing by the tree trunk, but it was very clear he didn't know what to do with his hands. Anxiety and awkwardness rolled off him in waves, and Lexi couldn't help but smile. She swung her legs off the hammock and crossed over to him and wrapped him in a tight embrace, not caring if she was getting soaking wet. He wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin on her head and closed his eyes.

"Please be safe out there," she mumbled, "Even with the Elites and Wallace helping in battle there's always still a risk that something could go wrong…"

"I know," he said, "We'll all make it back, I promise," They stood there for a few moments; Lexi slowly becoming aware of how soaked her clothes were becoming, and Steven, how long he had already spent up here, but neither of them cared.

When Steven finally pulled away he placed a soft kiss on her forehead, she closed her eyes briefly and sunk her head at the kiss before he turned and started back out the doorway. He got halfway before Lexi spoke up.

"When this is all said and done," she said as he looked back at her, "Can we go back to the cave with the massive tree in it? The one outside Dewford town?"

"Of course," he said with a smile and walked out into the rain.

"I'll explain everything there…" she finished, but he didn't hear her.

After Steven and the group left she couldn't stay cooped up in the treehouse all day, even if it was raining. She quickly through on something semi waterproof and slid down the ladder to the rain-soaked ground, soft and squishy like an old overused sponge. The Pokemart was closed because there weren't any trainers coming through to sell things to so the only place she could go was the Pokecenter and help. Surprisingly enough, the front desk didn't need anything, and she didn't have any medical practice to help upstairs, so she settled in at one of the desks with a book from the shelf.

She didn't know how much time passed before the building shook with a loud crash, but it wasn't from thunder. Lexi quickly set her book down on the table and started to stand before three people rushed down the stairs, one of them being carried by their arms. Winona followed quickly behind them looking none too pleased.

"You storm into my towns Pokecenter and demand that we appease such a ridiculous request based on nothing more than a hunch!?" she shouted. The two men carrying the men, who Lexi guessed were security, dropped the man on the floor, "We don't even know who you are!"

"Look, I just heard that the Champion and Elites were here and I came here for their help," the man said, "Clearly they're not here so I'm asking you for help," Wait, she knew this man. The cool voice and jet-black hair…

"Jackson?" she asked loudly as she jogged up to the confrontation. His head snapped towards her and for a split second, a nail of shock drove into her heart. He was beaten to hell and back with various cuts and gashes on his face and hands, but the worst was the thick blood-soaked bandaging wrapped around his neck with one spot more blood-soaked than the others.

"Lexi?" he asked in surprise, "What are you doing out here?"

"I…was traveling out here when the roads were shut down," she said and eyed Winona, "I couldn't leave, but Winona was nice enough to let me stay with her until the roads were opened again," Winona glanced her way with the briefest hint of a smile before she went back to staring down Jackson.

"That's great," he said completely dismissing the story, "Look, I need your help,"

"My help?" she asked.

"He says that Mount Pyre MIGHT be under attack from Team Magma and Aqua, but the only reason he thinks that is because he said he saw a flash of red on the mountainside when he was passing by," Winona crossed her arms, "Vulpix's are known to live atop Mount Pyre and their red coats could easily be mistaken for a member of Team Magma, and the roads are closed, you aren't supposed to be on them anyway,"

"Look what I was doing on the road doesn't matter you just have to believe me!" he cried and stood on his feet and got in Winona's face, "Isn't it a Gym leaders job to protect their region?" There was something about how he spat the words in her face, the way he subtly bared his teeth, and how his eyes looked as if they could cut steel with a blink. He was challenging her authority, and Winona didn't say a word.

"She is protecting her region," Lexi snapped back and stepped up to him, "She hasn't left this center so she can make sure every one of her trainers is safe. She's sent out parties to hunt down a beast that's nearly killed dozens of her people and has killed multiple Pokemon for pure sport.

"She can't afford to leave this town unprotected, and I'm not leaving her alone with that burden. If you're so worried about Team Magma and Aqua, then run up that mountain and deal with them yourself." Rage was boiling in her chest just as it did last night toward Winona, but it didn't feel wrong this time. If anything, she wanted to get more aggressive and go off on him more because she knew she'd feel no regret. Jackson stared her down and she became aware of how quiet the pokecenter had become, but she still wasn't going to back down.

"Pretty girls with a tongue like that won't make it very far in this world," he sneered.

 _ **Oh hell fucking no**_.

"Lock him upstairs," Winona ordered security before Lexi had a chance to claw at his pretty little eyes, "We'll deal with him when they get back," Security hauled him up the stairs, but Lexi refused to break eye contact with him until he was out of her sight.

"And I used to think he was a gentleman," she sneered and felt a shiver of adrenaline shoot up her spine.

"Friend of yours?" Winona asked and Lexi forced herself to relax her shoulder and unclench her teeth.

"He could have been if he hadn't just shown what an ass he was," she tried to joke and gave a dry chuckle. Winona looked at her for a split second before turning back up the stairs.

"Come upstairs with me," she said, "I need to show you something," Winona didn't wait for her and continued up to the top floor as Lexi quickly followed.

Some of the beds were empty, but the room was still pretty full. Trainers were clumped together in small pods talking in hushed voices with arms tucked away in slings and braces and thick bandages covering deep gashes and cuts. Despite the number of people in the room, it was quieter than it should have been. Her chest should have shaken with the roar of the different voices even if they were at a hushed tone, but Lexi could hear Winona's boots clicking against the tile as they made their way to the back of the room; the corner was sectioned off by a thick blackout curtain. A doctor nodded solemnly as they stepped in.

"This is Harper," she said as they stood and observed the body covered with a clean white sheet. Blonde hair trail out from under the cloth and ran over the side of the bed; an arm hung limply at the side caked in dried blood. Lexi's heart sank at the amount of blood on the bedsheets and floor.

"She was the member of the security team that managed to wound that Aggron before it attacked her," Winona said, but her voice was strained; she quickly cleared her throat, but it didn't help make her voice any clearer, "She…passed last night because of how severe her injuries were." Lexi didn't say anything and simply watched as Winona walked up to the body and pulled back the sheet.

She looked to be in her mid-30s; golden blonde hair pooled around her head as was died with different shades of brown and red. Her eyes were wide open but were glazed open and staring blankly at the ceiling with her mouth slightly ajar. Her uniform was in tatters and massive gashes were covered with thick bandaging, but she could still see the deepness and severity of her wounds. The arm hanging off the edge of the bed was bent backward at a 90-degree angle. The only thing keeping it attached to her body was unbroken skin and maybe some undamaged tendons and muscles.

Lexi took slow steps forward and stood on the other side of the bed and looked down at the woman, cautiously aware of every breath and movement as if one wrong step could wake to woman and send her back into a world of pain. It wasn't that she wasn't familiar with wounds and injuries just never with a dead body and never something so vicious. That's when it clicked…

"You were close to her," Lexi said quietly, and her tongue clicked against her lips. She looked up at Winona but found the Gym leader gazing down at the woman body with tears running down her face.

"She had been stationed in Gyms before she was stationed with me when I first became Gym leader," she said and wiped her tears away with her sleeves, "I confided in her with my fears and anxieties and she never told a soul. When a hard decision needed to be made, she was always there to give me advice," Winona chocked up and Lexi's heart shattered. That was why she was crying when she and Steven returned yesterday, it wasn't out of weakness, she was losing a friend. Her friend was dying in the next room over and Winona was still able to hold it together enough to leave her side even though her death was certain.

"Dozens more would have been killed had she not gone out that morning," she spoke again, "She drove the beast off at the cost of her own life…"

"What happened to her Pokemon?" Lexi asked and eyed the empty trainer's belt that normally held a trainer's team.

"We don't know," Winona admitted, "No one else that was attacked can find their teams either. We thought that maybe they fled into the woods during the attack, but these are Pokemon trained to never back down, and their pokeballs were missing too,"

"Their pokeballs?" Lexi repeated questionably, and Winona nodded, "What was Harper's main member if you don't mind me asking?" She had a very heavy feeling in her stomach at her suspicion, but she needed to be sure.

"A Rhydon," Winona answered, and she felt her skin go cold, "She'd raised it since it was a hatchling," Lexi took a deep breath and forced her mind to settle down. It was one coincidence it didn't need to mean anything.

"What?" Winona asked, and Lexi swallowed the lump in her throat, "What is it?"

"One of the bodies we found in the woods was a large Rhydon, and it looked like it put up quite a fight before it was finally killed, and…" she dug her nails into her palm, "Don't you think it's a little strange that this Aggron only took out members of the security team? The strongest fighters aside from you?"

"What are you suggesting? That this Aggron planned all of this in advance?" she asked and that was the part that scared Lexi the most.

"That's exactly what I'm saying, Winona," she answered, "These beasts are smart, its almost like it wants…" she stopped, and her heart sank like a rock, "to leave this place vulnerable…" she locked eyes with the gym leader as all the piece finally connected.

"So, it knew the Elites would go out searching for it…"

"And leave us here completely unprotected," Lexi finished. Both women quickly ran out the curtain and into the main room.

"I need everyone to line up! Now!" Winona shouted, and the trainers head snapped toward their direction before they quickly obeyed. Winona quickly barked out orders, but Lexi could feel stares boring into her chest. She ignored them and tried to send out a message to Steven or any of the Elites, but found that her messages kept failing to send.

"I can't reach any of them," she said as she tried for the fifth time to send out a message before stuffing the Pokedex away, "This storm is blocking the reception, I can't get anything through,"

"Then we have to do this ourselves," Winona said sternly and started down the stairs, "We need to make sure that everyone in the town is safe, but we can't cause an uproar and panic about this,"

"It's best you tell them then," Lexi said as they stopped just before the door, "They trust you more than me; they might think I'm lying or some bullshit,"

"Why would they think that?" Winona teased with a slight smile. Lexi returned the smile as the gym leader dashed out into the storm. It was just a race against the clock now; if her suspicions were true then the Aggron could be back any minute to destroy the whole town and everyone in it.

"What about that man?" someone asked, "If he gets stuck in here and the building collapses then he could die,"

 _Good_ Lexi wanted to lash out, but she bit her tongue. One casualty was already too much, as much as she now distasted the man he probably had friends and family that would miss him if he was killed.

"What room is he in?" Lexi asked as she turned and started back up the stairs.

"The last one on the right down the left hallway," the person answered as she turned and followed the directions. They had locked him in a broom closet in a forgotten part of the hallway; spiderwebs decorated the ceiling and the floor creaked after months of inactivity. She didn't even bother to knock and simply through the door open and found him sitting on an overturned bucket.

"Oh, Lexi!" he said in surprise, "Look, I'm…"

"Get out of the closet and find somewhere safe to hide," she interrupted him with a sharp glare and then turned and walked back down the hallway, but sure enough he followed.

"What do you mean?" he asked as a trainer bumped into him as they ran down the hallway, "What's going on?"

"What's going on shouldn't matter to you," she said sharply, "Just do as I say, and you might live to see another day,"

"Lex," he said and tightly grabbed her arm. She quickly spun and pinned his arms between hers. _Now_ she was pissed.

" _Look,"_ she hissed and stared Jackson down, "You waltz in here and make demands, threaten _me_ , and now you refuse to listen when you can see something is very clearly wrong," She dug her nails slightly into her skin, not enough to break skin, but enough to get her point across.

"I just wanted to…"

"I bet you could do it _without_ grabbing my arm," she snarled and pulled her lips back, " _Let. Go."_ Jackson raised his gaze to met hers and she felt his nails dig dipper into her arm for a split second before letting go and Lexi did the same.

Lexi went to say something but was interrupted as the door crashed open and a handful of people rushed in with Winona close behind. Every looked unharmed, but the fact they were running and looked panicked didn't bode well.

"It's here," Winona huffed as Lexi ran to met her, "Down at the Gym…but I don't think it saw us,"

"Good," Lexi said as she started shuffled through her bag for her pokeballs, "Stay here and keep the doors locked and the lights off,"

"What about you?" Winona asked as she released her team in the center. It had been a while since she had everyone together; a faint smile crossed her lips.

"These beasts seem to enjoy my company," she joked and tried to lighten the mood as Altia cooed and knelt her head down towards her, "I'm going to try and see if I can draw it away from the town and maybe try to kill it if I'm lucky enough,"

"You can't be serious!" Winona said aloud, "You can't take on that thing by yourself!" Silas barked in response and pawed at the bag; no, she was going to try and avoid using Latias in battle as much as possible. The legendary wasn't just a normal dog to throw into a fight.

"Just until Steven and the others realize something's wrong and come back," Lexi reasoned, but she knew the chances of that happening were slim to none, "They'll be able to take it down no problem,"

"You don't know that…" Jackson said quietly like he didn't want her to hear.

"Shut the fuck up Jackson," she growled but kept her attention on her team. Riley looked at her and glanced over at Winona before Lexi took a deep breath.

"Let's go," she said and the four of them ran out into the pouring rain.

The rain pelted against her skin like small stones and she barely heard Silas grunt in protest over the sound of the pouring rain. The storm was going to make things much harder; she needed to change up her battle style, and fast.

"You need to listen to me on this!" she shouted as they ran in the direction of the Gym, "This guy can take you down easy, so you need to keep your distance!" Lexi stumbled slightly as she almost tripped over a fallen branch from one of the tree houses.

"He'll go right for me, so you that to your advantage," she said as she stopped beside a thick bush, "I'll distract him and you try to do as much damage as possible," she looked over at Riley who nodded affirmatively.

" _Who is that I hear?"_ she heard something growl, _"Could it be the town Martyr?"_ Lexi didn't realize how close they had come to running right into the beast until it rose up from in front of the bush. A lightning bolt illuminated its jet black armor, but she noticed faint scratches and cut that reflected silver. The rain had washed away most of the blood, but there were some spots too stubborn for the rain alone to remove. They all crouched low to the ground as the Aggron landed back on all fours, shaking the ground violently.

" _You can't hide forever,"_ it snorted, _"I'll tear this town apart till I find you and that precious Keeper yours…"_ Lexi bit the inside of her cheek hard until she tasted blood; it wasn't just her this beast was after anymore. So many thoughts and theories ran through her head that she thought she might pass out until she felt a shove from Silas.

"Right…" she said and shook her head slightly, "Go take up position behind him, I'll distract him," Riley growled something and glanced back where the Aggron had walked off.

"I'll be fine," she reassured the Lucario, "Now go," Altia quickly took to the air as Silas and Riley ran on the opposite sides of where the Aggron had gone. She moved from the safety of the bush and into the Aggron's path of destruction. She could see the Aggron lumbering away towards the direction of the pokecenter; it uprooted trees and left deep tracks in the ground. She brought her finger to her mouth and whistled sharply.

The Aggron turned its head back slowly towards her before standing on two legs and facing her. Lexi took a shaky breath as she pulled back a stray chunk of hair that clung to her skin. It didn't attack her right away it just stood and watched her, like it was waiting for her to make the first move.

" _You're awfully brave for a trainer,"_ it snorted, _"or does the term reckless fit better?"_

"You've planned all of this out," she shouted to the beast and it raised its head in surprise, "all just to hunt me down?"

" _You aren't really the main target for me,"_ the beast growled, _"I was warned not to underestimate your kind…"_

"And yet they just sent one of you after me?" she scoffed. Was she staling because she knew she would be beaten to a bloody pulp? Or to buy time for the slim chance that Steven and the Elites might show up.

" _You have no idea the kind of_ _power we hold…"_ it growled and crouched low to the ground, _"and we won't stop until every single one of you is dead and erased from this world,"_

"Big words from something can't take down a single human," she taunted, and she knew that was the final straw. The Aggron roared and launched itself forward, but Lexi only took a few small steps backward. It barreled towards her and was within two strides of reaching her when a massive beam of light shot out from the treeline and blasted the Aggron in the side. The beast stubbled just long enough for Silas to leap from the branch of a tree and latch onto its metal plating. The plate burned red hot and sizzled as raindrops hit it before Silas was thrown off, but not before taking a chunk of the metal armor with him. Silas's body rolled across the muddy ground before he collided painfully with a tree; He roared in pain as Riley came into the clearing and fired another pulse of energy from her paws.

But the Aggron was ready. Just as Riley attacked it neatly dodged to the side, faster than Lexi thought possible for a Pokemon of that size. It landed back on all fours and barreled towards Riley, but she was faster as she flipped back onto a massive boulder. The Aggron smashed through it easily and sent the Lucario flying into the air, but she was quickly caught by Altia as she swooped in.

Round one was over, but they had barely made a scratch on the beast. Altia circled around Lexi as she dropped Riley at her side; she quickly glanced towards Silas who was staggering to his feet and breathing hard. Molten metal from the Aggron armor dripped from his jaws as he snarled at the beast.

" _You make them do all the work while you sit back and watch,"_ the Aggron snarled with a slight huff of breath, _"Pathetic…"_

"Sorry I can't join in on the fun," she mocked the beast with a frown, "Trust me, I really want to after seeing the damage you've done here." She snapped at the beast and pulled her lips back into a snarl and the Aggron snorted in amusement.

" _Caring about the weak…"_ It launched forward again, and Riley sent out another pulse of light, but this bounced harmlessly off its bare skin. Lexi quickly backed up as Riley stepped up in front of her with her claws out. The beast reared up and pulled back a paw to knock Riley away, but Riley was faster as she ran under its legs and began clawing at every piece of bare skin she could find. Lexi took the opportunity and started to run to Silas, but Altia grabbed her in her talons and easily flipped her onto her back. The flying type faltered slightly under the sudden weight change plus the force of the wind and rain but managed to stay in the air as Lexi watched the Aggron catch Riley with its tail and slammed her into the ground. She heard a pained cry from the Lucario, but she caught sight of Silas sprinting towards the pair before letting out a massive, high pitched roar. It hardly phased the Aggron as it took its massive claw and thrust it into Riley's stomach.

"RILEY!" she heard herself scream, but the Lucario didn't respond as the Aggron lifted its claw with her body skewered through it before it launched her into the tree line. Silas roared and relentlessly attacked the beast with everything he had left; his fiery mane glowing almost as bright as the sun as the pair danced back and forth.

"Altia, you need to help Silas," she pleaded as she watched the battle with baited breath, "I don't care about my safety. You two just need to get out of here while you can," she didn't hear her reply and Altia refused to move.

"Damnit Altia!" she said and smacked the side of the bird's neck. She needed to get back down, and she needed to get that beast away from everyone; she wasn't going to lose anyone else. An idea popped into her head; it was dangerous, but it was the only way she knew to get back on the ground.

She quickly swung her leg over Altia's body and let go of her neck and started free falling to the ground before the Pidgeot had time to notice. She almost reached the ground before her body jerked upwards as Altia caught her and took her back into the sky.

"Altia, put me down!" she struggled against her talons, but she couldn't overpower the flying type, "We have to help him!" She turned to look back at the battle below them when suddenly, she was jerked to the side and Altia let out a sharp cry of pain before they began tumbling to the ground. She felt something hit her back before she was thrown forward and hit a thick tree branch knocking the wind out of her. She tried to hold onto the branch, but it was too slick from rain and she fell the rest of the way back to the ground.

She landed with a painful thud, but she wasn't seriously hurt. She forced herself to stand and winced in pain as she looked around for Altia. She found the Pidgeot slumped against a tree with a broken wing and a deep slit in her neck; she wasn't moving…

She started to run toward her before a loud crash made her stop as Silas was tossed beside her; he was unconscious as well, deep cuts and gashes covered his body and Lexi could barely see the rise and fall of his chest.

" _Now then,"_ the Aggron cooed as it uprooted a small tree to make its way to her, _"Now that the pests are out of the way I can actually finish my job,"_ The Aggron towered over her, and she knew that she wouldn't be able to protect herself; her hope of surviving this without her team was gone, she was going to die here.

But still, she wanted to fight. She wasn't crippled like before and there weren't any cliffs for her to fall from. That primal rage burned in her chest and stomach like an out of control forest fire, and it was all directed towards the beast standing over her. One way or another, this thing was going to die by her hand, whether she died with it or not didn't matter anymore. The Aggron raised its claw high above its head and the world fell into still.

She wasn't going to die today; not a chance in hell.

 **AN: First off, I'm sorry for not posting last week but I gotta tell y'all this week fucking sucked ass and I'm pissed about everything. You can actually see the progression of my week in this chapter which is kind of cool actually lol**

 **I'm trying to stockpile chapters to get ahead, but with school being like it is since it's the last semester of my Senior year I've got a lot of shit to do outside of school for college and stuff.**

 **Anyway, Cliffhanger! Yes, Lexi is walking into this battle by herself without anyone else besides her team. Jackson makes a return and warns Winona and Lexi that Team Magma and Aqua are up to something on Mount Pyre, Lexi and Winona try to make amends, and Lexi is somewhat able to put a finger on the primal feeling she gets every so often. She's team less and staring down the face of death, but she isn't backing down (I'm so proud :'))**

 **That about it! I'll see yall next week and remember to revieeeeeeeew! The more you review the more motivated I am to write which means longer chapters and no missed updates!**


	19. Split

They had been searching for the better half of the day, almost four hours by Steven's guess but it was hard to tell with the storm baring down on them. They had split into groups of three; it was still a risky choice to make, but they would cover more ground and they stayed within half a mile of each other incase the other found something. Wallace split off with Drake and Phoebe and Steven went with Glacia and Sidney. Both groups had a Pokemon tracking the Aggron's trail, or at least trying to, but they hadn't come up with anything.

"I don't know if it's a good idea to stay out here much longer," Glacia said as she pulled her hood more over her face, "We could get lost if this storm gets any worse…"

"Afraid of a little overnight stay in the woods?" Sidney teased as he rubbed the back of his Absols neck. The dark type snorted as Glacia glared at the two.

"I just don't think it's a good idea leaving the town so unprotected for so long," she said as she looked over to Steven, "Even with Winona and that "trainer" there I still don't think it would be enough to stop an attack if one happened." Steven had to bite his tongue at her comment; Glacia made it very clear that she did not care for Lexi in the slightest, but she had a point. There was only such much the two of them could do to fend off an attack if the Aggron did come back.

"Come on, Glacia," Sidney teased as his Absol tracked off towards the treeline, "Why are you so hard on her? It's not like she's kicked your ass in battle yet,"

"Just because you own Pokemon doesn't make you a trainer," she snapped at the other Elite, "She treats them more like pets and doesn't give them the respect they deserve,"

"Some people could say the same thing about how we use our Pokemon," Steven argued, "They might argue that they should be left alone in the wild and not be forced to fight like most force them to,"

" _We_ don't force our teams into unwanted fights," she argued back, "They were raised to defend their trainers and that's what they do in battle,"

"Then have you considered that's what her team does?" He asked and stared her down through the rain. The two Elites knew that tone of voice; it was like a parent gently scolding and correcting their child, but they rarely heard it from him. It was a subtle sign from Steven to Glacia telling her to end the conversation, but she either didn't catch the hint or didn't care.

"Why are you defending her?" she asked harshly, and Sidney took a cautious step away from her, "What good does it do having her here?" Steven wasn't mad at the question, maybe a little bit, but it was a logical question, but the better question was did she deserve an answer? He brought her with them for a number of reasons; the things she told him a few nights ago, the simple fact that they were together now as a couple, the subtle fear in his chest at the thought of leaving her along to her own devices and remembering the criss crossing white lines on her leg, but there was something else.

She'd been apart of this mystery just as long as any of them and had the most experience. It was like she… knew something about these beasts that none of them could understand, and Steven was hoping that would be the key to figuring out what the hell was going on. Unfortunately, Glacia wasn't going to take his silence for an answer.

"We don't have time to distract ourselves with one night stands…" she growled

"Glacia!" Sidney shouted, but Steven stayed silent and clenched his jaw. So Glacia thought Lexi was keeping him from focusing on the main objective… He kept his temper locked and simply looked at the ice type Elite before they heard a low whine as Sidney's Absol stepped out from the tree line.

"What is it Casimir?" he asked and rubbed the pokemons neck, "Find something?" Casimir whined once more and looked off into the woods back towards Fortree City with its ears perked high.

"Somethings not right," Steven muttered. He stormed pasted Glacia and stood beside the Absol and tried to see what it saw. He couldn't see past the misted rain and thick trees, but he knew something was out there when the Absol whined again and dug its claws into the ground. He barely requested snapping twigs behind him before the three of them spun around and saw a Mightyena bound across the brush.

"Kiba?" Sidney asked as the Pokemon ran up beside the Absol and snorted. A few moments later Drake, Wallace, and Phoebe followed into the clearing looking just as surprised as the others.

"Good timing," Wallace huffed as he pulled back a piece of hair that clung to his skin, "He just took off so we thought he found something, but I guess he just found you guys,"

"Not quite," Steven said and glanced back down at the pair of Pokemon who now seemed restless and bounced on their paws and whined, "Casimir found something too, but he won't go any further than this…"

Suddenly, a massive beam of green light shot up from the trees in the direction the Pokemon were looking. A low pitched tone, almost like a flute, followed the light before he heard something roar in pain. Kiba and Casimir took off imminently towards its direction and the Elites quickly followed.

It was almost like she blacked out; one moment she was laying on her back staring up at the Aggron, and the next she was on her feet with Latias between them. A massive beam, larger than anything she had seen before, shot from Latias's chest and threw the Aggron back across the ground. Her body felt light with rage and she wanted nothing more than to rip this bastard to pieces.

And she planned to do just that.

The Aggron stumbled to its feet and roared at her, but she was already ready. Her hands began to burn and she saw purple phantom claws extend from Latias's talons. She walked forward with her teeth bared as the Aggron barreled towards her. She easily dodged it and Latias coped her moves; she swiped at the beast as soon as it passed her, and Latias's claws cut through its armor like butter. She got a hit on the back of its leg, crippling it and causing thick black blood to spray over the ground. This only fueled her fire more.

 **"You killed my team…"** she growled, but it wasn't her voice. It was a mix of her and Latias, but there was something else there, something dark and violent, **"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't slaughter you where you lay!"**

 _"I was following orders…"_ the beast seemed to plead, and she wanted to gut it alive the moment it opened its mouth, _"Please understand that…"_ She quickly swiped her arm up and Latias cut deep into the beast's stomach as it roared loudly in pain.

 **"Do you know how much pain you've caused?"** she growled and stepped up beside its writhing body. She drove a claw into the Aggron's arm pinning it to the ground, **"How much death and blood was spilt by your hand?"**

 _"Please don't…"_ the beast said, but he sounded more like a sobbing man now, _"I didn't have a choice…"_ She tilted her head slightly; a part of her screamed that she should have felt pity for the beast, but all she felt was pleasure cutting up the thing that had almost destroyed an entire town.

 **"Then I'm afraid I don't have a choice either,"** she said and laid a claw on the beasts throat. She could feel its heartbeat under Latias's claws and she grinned wickedly. She was moments away from jabbing it into its throat and watching him bleed out when she heard a small voice whisper in the back of her mind.

 _"Don't…"_ the male voice whispered, and Lexi shook her head to ignore it, _"Lexi…don't…"_ She whipped her head around, ready to slit the throat of whatever was interrupting her before she saw something stumble through the rain. She almost attacked before she saw a faint flicker of a dying flame dance across its mane.

"Silas…" she breathed, but it was her own voice; it sounded fainted and distant in her mind, but she knew it was hers.

 _"Stop…"_ the voice pleaded, _"Please…"_

Before she could say anything, something tackled her and she was thrown to the ground. Suddenly, that burning rage was gone as was the voice. Her head pounded painfully and her ears starting ringing as someone picked her up from the ground, but her head hurt so bad that she could barely see straight.

When Steven and the others arrived at where the Pokemon lead them, they found Lexi face down on the ground with a man hovering over her body. Silas and Latias weren't far away, but both looked in bad shape.

"Impetus!" Sidney shouted and Kiba and Casimir launched forward towards the man with teeth barred. The mans head snapped up towards them and he quickly backed off her body, but that was not good enough for the two Pokemon as they both leapt and bit down on his arm and shoulder and brought him to the ground. Steven was quick to confront the man with Wallace and Sidney at his side as Drake and Phoebe went to Lexi.

"Who the hell are you?" Steven asked harshly, and Wallace and Sidney cast him a quick glance; he was _pissed._

"Look, get your dogs off me and maybe I can… Ow!" the man shouted as Casimir bit down harder on the man's arm.

"Who. Are. You." he repeated putting hard emphasis on each word. If he laid a hand on her he would personally break it himself.

"Ok, I know how it looks but I wasn't doing anything to her!" he said quickly before either Pokemon could tighten their bite.

"That still doesn't answer our question," Wallace added as Steven simply stared the man down.

"Alright! Alright!" he said, "My name's Jackson Miller, I'm a friend of hers,"

"I'm sure you are," Steven growled. He didn't believe this man for a minute and for all he knew he could be lying about his name, but it was all they had. He heard Drake call his name and he looked back and saw him and Phoebe carefully propping up Lexi. She looked pale, but other than that she looked fine.

"Don't let him go anywhere," Steven whispered to Sidney and the other man nodded as he jogged over to the other Elites.

"She's fine from what we can see," Phoebe said as he knelt down beside her, "No external injuries,"

"Good," Steven replied, but he was far from relieved yet. That man could have done any manner of things to her that they couldn't see, and that's what scared him, "Go help Sidney and Wallace," He caught Drakes gaze for a moment and the old sailor gave him a small smile. It wasn't much, but it was enough to slightly ease his knotted stomach. He sighed and looked back down at her but found her eyes already slightly ajar and staring blankly at the sky. They were unfocused and her pupils were dilated, but the strangest thing was how a dark red seemed to leak into her iris leaving a strange mix of bright green and blood like red. She looked around blindly as he grabbed her by the shoulders, but she couldn't seem to see him.

She knew something was going on; she could still feel the rain on her skin and she felt someone holding her, but she couldn't see anything. It was like everything had been cut off.

"Where is it?" she asked aloud, but her voice was low and raspy as if she had been screaming for days on end, "Where is that son of a bitch…"

"What?" She barely heard someone say and the rage tried to build in her chest once more, but it was like her body wouldn't allow it to rear its head. She tried to move, but her body wouldn't listen.

" _Please breathe…"_ a soft voice pleaded; it sounded exhausted and in so much pain and she felt tension leave her body, _"This is hurting both of us…"_

But she didn't want to stop. She wanted to fight until she saw that beasts head on a spike; she wanted to see that Salamance burn for what it did…

 _"This is not the way…"_ the voice said again, _"It's too…"_

 _"Dangerous,"_ another voice said sternly. It was another female voice, but it sounded aged and disappointed, _"You'll lose everything this way, Lexi."_

And just like that, it all stopped. The voices, the rage, everything. It was like a lead blanket had been lifted from her chest as her vision slowly came back. She was starring up at the sky, but Steven was beside her only he wasn't looking down at her. He was looking away from her; his face taunt and serious.

"Steven?" she asked softly and was surprised he even heard her. He looked down at her, his face full of concern and worry, "What's going on?" she tried to push herself up, but Steven gently stopped her and helped her lean against a fallen log.

"Easy," he said, "That's what we're trying to find out," He ran a critical eye over her as he checked her wrists and arms, "Did he do anything to you?"

"Who?" Lexi asked and leaned her head back against the log as she pieced together her scattered memory. The battle, controlling Latias, then being shoved and then darkness.

"Some guy name Jackson," Steven hissed slightly and Lexi pulled her head up, "Did he hurt you?"

"Is he here?" she asked harshly, and her gaze wondered over to the small group of Elites surrounding a man on the ground, "Motherfucker…"

"He was laid over you when we got here," Steven said as he followed her gaze, "If he did anything to you…"

"You'd be the next in line to kick his teeth in after I get done beating the hell out of him don't worry about that," she said and tried to stand once more, "Help me up," Steven quickly supported her elbow as she stood, but her knees buckled under her and she almost fell to the ground before he caught her by the waist. Did all of that really leave her that weak?

Steven slung her arm over his shoulder and the two hobbled over to the rest of the Elites. Jackson was no longer pinned to the ground by Casimir and Kiba, but the two Pokemon remained close by incase he tried anything. His eyes caught Lexi's immediately and he pointed towards her.

"Ask her! I was protecting her from those things!" he cried as the group glanced back as Steven and Lexi hobbled forward.

"The only thing you managed to do was keep me from killing a dangerous creature and tackle me to the ground," she said sternly, "And one of those "things" was a member of my team you worthless son of a…" She winced, and her knees buckled slightly under her as Steven held tighter to her waist.

"What were you even doing this far out of town?" she asked as she regained her footing, "Everyone was supposed to stay in the Pokecenter, I told Winona to lock the doors when I left,"

"I saw this bright light from the second floor and I saw afraid something had happened, so I jumped from the window to go protect you," he said. Everybody's head turned towards the two of them, but surprisingly enough both Steven and Lexi were calm at Jackson's words.

"I don't and will never need your protection, Jackson," she said sternly and narrowed her eyes at him before wincing quietly as the Elites turn their attention back to him. Now Steven definitely knew something was wrong.

"Damn Aggron knocked me from the air and I landed on a branch wrong," she said before he could even ask her what was wrong, "I don't think it broke anything; it just knocked the air out of me, but the pain is just now starting to hit again," she leaned her head against his shoulder and sighed deeply.

"We need to get back to town," he said as she squeezed her eyes shut in pain, "I think we've all had enough excitement for one day,"

"Surely you don't just want to leave because I'm a little weak in the knees," she teased and looked back behind them. Steven didn't even need to look to know that it was Glacia as Lexi quickly pride herself from his grip and limped towards her. Steven turned and saw Glacia holding three pink pokeballs.

"Before you ask, they'll be fine for the time being," she said as she placed the balls in her hand, "but they won't be if we don't get back to the center soon,"

"Then that settles it," Steven said and starts back to the Elites, "We're heading back to town!"

"There's only three Pokeballs here…" Lexi said softly and looked up at Glacia. The normally harsh and judgmental stare of the Elite was softened and laced with what looked like sorrow.

"Latias refused to be captured even though she can barely move; She looked the worst hurt out of all of them, but she still refused my help," Glacia looked back and Lexi saw the Eon Pokemon laying on the ground. She couldn't see any visible wounds on her body, but something wasn't right. Lexi made her way towards the Pokemon and knelt beside her head. She expected to hear her soft calming voice echo in her mind, but all she heard was a pained grunt as she opened her eyes. Her eyes were mixed with a deep red that seemed to swirl in her iris like liquid, but the colors were evenly divided.

"This is all my fault," she asked and carefully rubbed the feathery down on her head, "Isn't it?" Latias lifted her head and snorted before she fell back to the ground; she heard someone walk up behind her.

"Maybe you'll have better luck with her than I did," Glacia said as she handed her an empty heal ball, "You seem to have a way with her that I couldn't replicate," Lexi twisted the Pokeball in her hand and caught a glimpse of Glacia's silhouette from its rain-slick surface.

"Thank you," she said, but she kept her attention toward Latias, "Thank you for helping my team. They're one of the few things I have left from home,"

"It's my job to protect Pokemon," she said simply and Lexi let the conversation drop. She took the Pokeball and lightly touched it to Latias's forehead as she closed her eyes and disappeared into a small beam of light before fading into the Pokeball.

"Lexi! Glacia!" they both turned and saw Phoebe waving them down; Jackson was between Casimir and Kiba, "Come on we're heading back to town!" Glacia walked off without her but Lexi noticed that she stopped and watched when Lexi tried to stand. It took her a minute, but soon the group was heading back towards town.

Meanwhile, the Aggron stumbled through the brush as thick blood trailed from deep gashes across its body. The beast wanted to get as far away from the clearing as possible before it collapsed in a small pond. It's breathing was labored as it closed its eyes and forced its body to go still; it felt its bones begin to shift and snap and its skin and armor break away until all that was left was a gasping man half submerged in the water.

"Way to go genius," a voice sneered as another man stepped from the shadows of the forest and leaned against a tree, "Not only did you manage to let her go alive, you didn't even have the decency to let yourself be finished off. You had to run away like a coward,"

"Shut it Eclipse," the man growled and pushed himself up on his hands; blood poured from his wounds and swirled in the water, "I almost had her…"

"Almost isn't good enough," Eclipse growled, but didn't move towards the man.

"Then you hunt her down next time!" the man snarled and barred his sharpened teeth, "And she would have killed me had he not stopped her,"

"Then you better beg for his forgiveness for your failure when we see him," Eclipse growled as he crossed over and hoisted the man up by his arm, not caring about the immense pain he was causing, "Let's get you out of here before you bleed out and I have to take your lifeless corpse back home." The man was practically carried off into the dark woods leading off towards Mount Chimney.

When they had arrived back to town they found some of the houses torn from the trees and a few of the bridges had been destroyed, but they were relieved when the found the towns folk safely locked away in the pokecenter with Winona and her Pokemon guarding the door. Lexi had regained some of her strength, but not enough to fully walk on her own. She held onto Drakes arm as they came into town and made sure to watch her every step. Steven and Sidney lead the group with Jackson behind them being guarded by Casimir and Kiba; Wallace and Glacia followed behind Jackson and Drake, Lexi, and Phoebe followed up the rear.

She weakly protested to having a doctor check her once they got to the pokecenter, but everyone insisted on it, so she was forced to comply. A nurse took her Pokemon to a healing station as she was ushered upstairs.

"Well," a doctor said as she shined a bright light in her eyes, "Everything seems fine; blood pressure is elevated and heart rate is as well, but that's to be expected after what you've told me." He clicked the light away and Lexi rubbed her eyes to chase away the pain, "As for your eyes, my best guess is that you've managed to bust some blood vessels during the fight. It should disappear in a few days,"

"So I'm fine then?" she asked.

"Not quite," the doctor said carefully, "I'm most concerned about how this is all effecting your body in the long run because you are showing signs of severe fatigue and if this keeps up then your body could completely shut down on you,"

"Makes since I guess," she said with a nod, but she knew right where the conversation was heading.

"I'm going to have to ask you to stay home bound until some progress is made," the doctor said, and Lexi clenched her jaw, "I've already spoken to the Elites on this matter and they agree 100%,"

"Of course," she forced herself to say and the doctor nodded his head with visible relief.

"Good," he said, "I was told that it would take a lot more to convince you than this," he gave a small chuckle and Lexi forced herself to smile.

"Sometimes you have to know when to listen to doctors orders," she said with a tight grin and stood from the bed. The doctor went to help her up, but she waved him away and carefully took a few steps forward on her own, "They're all with that man we brought in, right?"

"Down to the main room and down the left hall; they're in the conference room on the right," he said and tried to help her once more, but she was more forceful waving him away as she took longer strides. She bid the doctor goodbye and started the long crawl down to everyone else.

"Look like I said before, I came to this town looking for you guys, so you could handle Team Magma and Aqua on Mount Pyre, but when you weren't here I went to the next best thing!" Jackson said loudly as each person in the room stared him down. They had heard Winona's side of the story before they came in and wanted to hear his side to get that full view, but all he seemed to do so far was shout and dodge questions.

"What were you even doing on the roads in the first place?" Glacia asked harshly as she crossed her legs, "The roads have been closed for two days now so you shouldn't have been on the road before it was shut down,"

"Some friends of mine the run the Safari Zone and I couldn't get a hold of them through the phone so I went out myself," he defended, "I was worried maybe they had gotten attacked and went to check on them,"

"And what would you have done if somethin' found you?" Sidney asked, "You don't carry a team, you're not a trainer,"

"I would have done something to protect myself and friends!" he cried and leaned forward on the table, but no one flinched at the act, "I haven't done anything wrong! Why are you questioning me like this?"

"Because when we first saw you, you were leaning over an unconscious woman's body with her team half dead nearby," Steven was quick to answer. He was a hard man to agitate, but this man was pushing every button he had.

"I told you I was protecting her from those things!" he shouted towards Steven, but he didn't flinch, "I know her! We went on dates! She knows me!"

"It was one date and all you did was buy me a crappy three dollar coffee, and I don't even drink coffee," a voice came from the doorway. Steven looked back and saw Lexi leaned with her arm up against the doorway; she looked tired and she was breathing hard, "Don't inflate your ego thinking you can get out of this easier,"

"Now Lex, wait…" Jackson started, but her attention was already off him and on Steven.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" she asked, but he heard something hidden under her voice. If her eyes before made his throat tighten up, then her eyes now almost made him suffocate. He didn't say anything and simply nodded his head as they stepped out of the room.

"Somewhere more private than the hallway," she half demanded as a trainer passed them heading to the main room, "Please…" Steven instinctively grabbed her hand and they walked a little further down the hall until they found a small single bed room probably used by one of the staff. He locked the door and when he turned back he saw Lexi starring him down with her arms crossed at her chest.

"What?" he asked.

"Look, I know this last fight probably scared the hell out of you, but we both know that I can handle myself," she said sternly, "I'm completely fine, there's no need for me to be locked up in a room for God knows how long!" Steven sighed and rubbed the back neck; he knew she wouldn't like this and he should have known it was why she looked ready to chew his hide out.

"Lex, none of us had any thing to do with sending you home. _I_ didn't have anything to do with sending you home," he said, "This was purely based on what the doctor saw,"

"Then why did you have to check it with you and the Elites?" she asked harshly.

"Everything gets checked by me," he answered, and Lexi turned her head, "That's, unfortunately, my job, but for once I'm glad it is," He walked up to her as she turned her head back towards him with a confused look.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Maybe you wouldn't listen to it from a doctor, but I hope you'll listen to me," he said sterner than he intended, but that seemed to be the only way to get it through to her, "You aren't in good shape Lex,"

"A goodnights rest and I'll be fine," she said softer than usual.

"No," he said sternly, "Your body is shutting down on you. It's at the breaking point,"

"So?"

"So?!" Steven asked back loudly, "If you pull another heroic act like you did today then you won't make it out at all. This is the second time we've done this and the last time it took you almost two days to recover, but now you can barely walk,"

"I don't need you to watch over me like I'm a kid," Lexi snapped with a sudden bite in her voice and fire in her eyes, "I'm able to take care of myself,"

"I'm not saying you can't, but you're being reckless with your life running to face beasts like you have been," he said softly and took her hands in his, "It's my job to protect as much as this region as I can, and I make you my number one priority whenever possible," She didn't look at him, but he saw her jaw clench as she sighed deeply.

"Don't waste your time trying to protect me from those things," she finally said, "They'll come for me either way,"

"Why?" he asked but she squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head.

"It's just this…" she said and bit her lip, "Every time one of those beasts shows up it goes straight for me out of the group. Don't you think that's a little odd?" Of course, she knew why they attacked her like they did, but if she told Steven out right he'd think she was crazy.

"That hasn't really happened," Steven reminded her, "Every time you've gone up against one of them its always been by yourself or you've called them away from someone,"

"Maybe…" she said quietly and let go after his hand, "It's just…it doesn't seem right,"

"None of it seems right," he said, and she just turned her back to him and looked at an old picture of a lady with a Delcatty in her lap, "But we're going to get to the bottom of it,"

 _Will we though?_ A small voice asked in the back of her mind. She wanted to argue with him and convince him to let her stay, but she was quickly becoming aware of just how protective and stubborn he could be. A thousand points ran through her mind about why she should stay, but she didn't have the energy to argue.

"Please, go back to Rustboro and get some rest," he urged gently. The air was thick and heavy with tension, but Lexi forced herself to breathe and relaxed her shoulders.

"Yeah," she said as she turned back to Steven. He was watching her with a worried and sad smile as she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly, "Just…please be safe,"

"I will, I promise," he said as he rested his head atop hers and closed his eyes. He swayed back and forth to help ease her fears before there was a sharp knock on the door and the door knob jiggled. It was another moment like the morning after they woke up together; neither wanted to move, but they knew they needed to.

"Duty calls," she said as she pulled herself away and brushed a strand of hair from her face. She looked up at him and gave him a warm smile, and for a moment Steven swore that the color shifted in her eyes before she started towards the door and Steven followed behind her.

When she unlocked the door, and pushed it open they saw a young trainer standing as she fumbled in her bag, probably looking for the key. When she looked up and saw them her eyes went wide in surprise in shock. Her eyes switched between her and Steven and they both knew what was racing through her mind. Lexi smiled and gave a small nod to the trainer as she made her way back down to the main floor while Steven kept a straight face and only nodded to acknowledge the train as he walked passed her and prayed that she didn't notice the slight shade of pink his face had begun to turn.

 **AN: I was actually afraid I wouldn't get this out on time but look at me go.**

 **I'm gonna steer away from Steven and Lexi relationship building for a bit cause I want to work on her as a character more rather than rely on another person to build her character. Who knows what'll happen cause I don't really know myself :P**

 **Sorry if it a short update but East Tennessee is getting hunted down with the flu and it managed to catch me so I'm hella tired and sick, but hey we hit the 1000 reader goal which something I just noticed yesterday! Anyway, see you lot next week!**


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